A Simple Crush
by creativia
Summary: When it comes to having a crush, Akira has always been pretty hopeless in how she acts around them, and in hiding who she has feelings for. Her new crush happened to be Izaya, who of course realizes her feelings towards him fairly easily. Akira's friend Sora fears for her naïve friend, knowing just what kind of person the informant is. She tries to protect her as much as she can.
1. Chapter 1 (First Sight)

**(AN: I had gotten a review mentioning how I had switched from first person to third early on. So, I thought I should go back and change this to third person since that is how it will remain for the rest of the story.)**

Chapter 1 (First Sight)

It all started with hearing a convenience store trashcan crash…

Akira was being shown around Ikebukuro by her friend Sora after school that day, since Akira had just moved here.

After hearing the crash Akira immediately started running towards the direction of the loud crash, completely ignoring her friend's wary look. Akira probably wouldn't have gotten so far ahead of Sora if she hadn't stood in hesitation. Between the two of them, Sora had always been the more athletic one.

Akira couldn't help herself but to check out what was going on. She felt that Sora should have known that by now

Akira's curiosity was too much. Although, she probably wouldn't be able to do anything if the cause of the loud crash sound really were as bad as it sounded. Granted, Akira probably wasn't really thinking ahead as she ran towards the sound. As she stopped to catch her breath from running, Akira realized that she was in front of an interesting scene. There was a blonde man in a bartender uniform that seemed to be threatening another man. The blonde's voice sounded low and gruff.

"Didn't I tell you to get out of Ikebukuro?"

Akira looked over at the man the blonde was talking to and felt her breath catch.

A man was getting up from what appeared to be out from under a convenience store trashcan that for some reason had been on top of him. As he stood up, Akira found myself staring at one of the most gorgeous guys she'd ever seen. He had sleek raven black hair that seemed dazzling to me. His hair was long enough to be sexy but not too long (it didn't seem like a girl's length). He was wearing a black parka with white fur trim. Yet somehow, he didn't appear to sweat, from wearing that jacket, in the slightest. The raven-haired man sneered at the blonde man talking to him. Hearing the raven speak almost made me swoon out loud. There was a certain edge to his voice, in the way that he was nonchalantly teasing the aggressive man, that just caused my heart flutter.

He didn't even seem fazed by the fact that a convenience store trashcan had been on top of him.

He said something to the bartender man, but Akira couldn't remember what he said though. She was too dazed from looking at him. Yet she remembers watching his lips move which just seemed to make him more attractive. Just what was he? Something about him just didn't seem real. She couldn't help but feel completely awed by him.

Akira was so dazed from watching him that she didn't notice when her best friend caught up to her.

"Um, Akira?"

At the time, she didn't even notice her friend talking to her or the incredibly anxious look Sora got from seeing Akira's crush face again.

* * *

Sora knew that look anywhere. That look was Akira's crush face. It may have been a while since they went to school together, until recently that is, but Akira hadn't changed much in this sense though.

Sora had come to know by now that Akira tended to have crushes a lot. Akira was such a hopeless romantic, and she was completely hopeless in the crush department too. Usually she would obsess over said crush but always be too nervous to act on it.

The scary part wasn't even the fact that Akira had a crush on Izaya Orihara of all people. No, the scary part about that was that Akira was extremely terrible about hiding the fact that she has a crush on someone. Sora had no doubt that it wouldn't be hard for the informant to figure out her friend's feelings, and she feared for what he might do with it once finding out this information.

Sora had dealt with Izaya enough in the past to be completely terrified for the sake of her incredibly naïve and fragile friend who was new to the city. Sora had sworn that she would protect her practically sister. Akira always seemed to get herself into situations. Sora needed to do something about this.

"Akira, no." Sora said. During the arguing between the two men, Sora grabbed her dazed friend's arm and ran as far away from the scene as she could. Once she felt like they were far enough away they stopped by an alleyway.

"Akira, not him. Please not him."

Akira just gave Sora a confused look.

"Just trust me, alright? Look, I know you can't control your feelings or anything, but please promise me you won't pursue him. Please? You're just going to have to trust me on this one. Alright? That guy is just bad news. I've witnessed first-hand the amount of destruction he can cause. He's very dangerous and I don't want to see you get hurt. Alright? In fact, try not to interact with him at all if you can help it." Sora could tell that Akira was doubtful about the dangerous part, but she knew that Akira trusted her judgment.

Akira nodded at this.

"Oh, um, oh ok."

Sora noticed Akira's face fall at her advice. It was for her own good though.

Akira always tended to overestimate what she could handle. Sora wondered what Akira would do without her as a friend.

"Well, what are you two chatting about it?"

Sora jumped and Akira nearly yelped. They both turned to see the very man that they had just been discussing. He had an amused smirk on his face. Sora really hoped he hadn't overheard them. Out of the corner of her eye Sora already noticed Akira blushing and beginning to act nervous.

Uh oh. Izaya clearly noticed, his eyes were drawn to Akira. This of course caused her to blush even more. He was still smiling smugly but now an eyebrow was raised. Sora wondered if this was his plotting face.

Sora cleared her throat and stepped forward, half blocking her friend from Izaya's view.

"Why should we tell someone like you?"

Izaya paused and then laughed.

"I see your negative feelings towards me haven't changed at all."

Sora just narrowed my eyes at him, trying to warn him.

"Now, who's this with you?" Izaya stepped towards Akira, and Sora further blocked her from view by standing in between them. Akira was too busy stuttering nonsense to be able to comprehend the movement.

"I don't think you have the right to be introduced to any of my friends. That is, not anymore."

Izaya glanced at Akira again. She stopped her stuttering and simply stared back, blush growing brighter. Izaya curled his lips into a sly smile and looked back at Sora.

"Well, I don't really have to be introduced by you, now do I? After all, I am an information broker. I can just do some research on her." He laughed seeing Sora's eyes widen.

"Somehow I can get the feeling we'll be seeing each other again in the near future." Izaya said to Akira.

"Farewell Sora Tanaka." He gazed at Akira again. "And Sora's friend~." Izaya winked at Akira before running off again.

* * *

As Izaya ran off he couldn't help but laugh to himself at that new girl's reactions to him. It appeared that he had found a new toy to play with. It had been extremely obvious that the girl had a crush on him.

Sora seemed to have made it her goal to protect her friend from him. Not like that would stop him at all though. He couldn't wait for this new game.


	2. Chapter 2 (Obsession)

**A/N: Sorry for how long this took to update.**

Chapter 2

After watching the information broker skip away, Sora could not help the new nauseous feeling in her stomach. She feared for what might happen next. Just then, remembering the very person she had been concerned about, Sora looked over to see how Akira was. Her friend appeared to be frozen still, a dumb looking state of awe on her face and cheeks were still tinted pink. Sora just sighed at this sight of her friend. It took Sora several minutes to snap Akira out of her mesmerized daze. After that, they both walked home.

* * *

Just like Sora figured, Akira began to obsess over her new crush. Sora was beginning to notice her friend, who sat next to her in class, gazing dazedly with a blush on her face. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out the kind of thing she was daydreaming about. Akira was normally a good student, but when she gets like this, it's hard for her to think about anything else. Not saying that Sora was the perfect student or anything, but she knew that school was important to Akira. Plus, Sora had sworn she would look out for Akira when she moved to the city, so that would include helping her stay focused on things like school.

School was supposed to be Akira's good distraction. In the past Akira has already been vulnerable to some of the ugliness of this world. Sora really did not want Akira to go through something like that again. But seriously though, of all people for Akira to fall head over heels for it had to be Izaya Orihara? One of the most dangerous men in Ikebukuro! She would rather Akira fall for Masaomi Kida over Izaya (and that was saying something). Despite how contradictory it would seem to Akira's gentle nature, she always seemed to fall for dangerous-seeming guys. There was probably some sort of psychological explanation for it, but Sora did not know anything about that sort of thing.

If Akira had fallen for Masaomi, at least she would not be in danger. At least, not physically. But Sora was not sure if she could protect Akira from Izaya though. In the past, if Akira had fallen for the bad boy type, Sora would not find much difficulty steering Akira away from them. A lot of times they could be avoided. However, Izaya goes after people. As soon as he noticed Akira first blush around him, Sora knew that there was a possibility that Akira had peeked his interest. A lot of times the bad boy types at school would not want to have anything to do with a girl like Akira. However, Izaya was the kind of person who would play with her out of curiosity and for fun. She's not a toy! It did not help that Izaya was so attractive and good at portraying that fake charming persona.

He was good at seeming like he would not be dangerous. Not that Sora thought Akira would doubt her or anything. Akira trusted her. She just cannot help how obvious she is with crushes. Sora imagined it would be difficult for Akira to say no to him. Sora also was not thrilled that Izaya was so powerful. If he wanted to, he could send dangerous people after someone who crossed him. It's not like Sora had any power like that. She _really_ feared for her friend.

During class one day, after Akira's first glimpse at Izaya, Sora glanced over at Akira's notes and let out a frustrated sigh.

"Really Akira?" Sora questioned, trying not to be heard by their teacher.

At the top of Akira's paper were doodled hearts and Izaya's name written several times in fancy print. Seriously? That was so elementary school.

Akira, who had been doodling in her own world, snapped out of it when her friend spoke to her. She looked over and saw her friend's frustrated disapproving look. She looked down and blushed in embarrassment, attempting to cover her note doodles.

Sora sighed and shook her head.

"Akira- "

"I know I know." Akira whispered and sighed. She knew Sora had good judgement about these kinds of situations. Akira was embarrassed that she still liked this guy so much after hearing Sora's warning. Akira felt like she was so pathetic at times and wanted to cry out of embarrassment. But no. She wouldn't let herself do that. She'd already been degraded enough.

"You know Akira, you don't- "

"I know I know, I don't _need_ a guy. You've given me the speech before Sora. Just because you've felt the need to be independent of guys since your last breakup doesn't mean it's so easy for the rest of us."

"I know it's not easy, Akira. I just think that, given your history, it may be best if you stop thinking about that kind of thing so much."

"It's not like I can help it Sora. You know that. I've tried to contain my feelings before, but I can't."

"I didn't ask you- "

"I know you didn't ask me to try to change my feelings or anything, but you and I both know just how hopeless I am when I have a crush on someone."

They heard the teacher clear her throat. Both girls looked up to see the teacher looking at them with a disapproving look. They had not realized that their voices had been raising gradually while they were arguing.

The teacher then sighed.

"I'll leave you with a warning for now, since you Akira haven't messed up before. However, if you girls disrupt my class again I will now hesitate to give you both detention. Understand?"

"Yes Ma'am." They both said in unison, gulping.

Sora noticed Masaomi, who was sitting in front of her, glance back at them before turning forward in his seat again. Sora rolled her eyes. That jerk really needed to mind his own business.

* * *

Akira wished she could get over this guy.

It was not like this guy would ever go for a girl like her anyways. He seemed like he was in his twenties or something, so why would he even look at someone her age? She was not exactly amazingly beautiful or anything. She had light brown hair that ended just below her shoulders and ordinary brown eyes. Nothing exciting there.

It wasn't surprising that Sora had more experiences in dating that Akira did. Sora had pretty hazel eyes and long wavy goldish hair that reached her midback. Typically her hair would fall over the front of her shoulders. Unnaturally bright red streaks shown in her hair as well, definitely making her stand out more that Akira did. Although, she added the streaks after she decided to swear off dating for a while.

Plus, with how attractive Izaya was he should totally realize how much he was out of Akira's league. There was no doubt he probably had many ladies wanting to be with him.

On top of all that, she had probably made a complete fool of herself after first seeing him. She blushed and could not even get out a coherent word. Some first impression. And yet, he winked at her? That did not make any sense. Why would he do that? Was there some sort of city cultural reference that Akira did not know about? She doubted that, but you never knew.

All these thoughts were passing through Akira's head as she walked home from school one day. Sora was starting her new job that day at Russia sushi, so she would have to walk home alone.

"Why, Hello there Akira Kiyota."

Akira froze, immediately recognizing the voice she had repeating over and over again in her head. It was him. She did not move as he caught up to her and gave her an amused simper. How did he know her name? She never managed to get that out.

He chuckled.

"You're Sora's friend. I didn't mean to freak you out or anything. I'm an information broker, so knowing things about people is kind of what I do."

That made Akira feel a little bit better. She tried not to look him in the eyes, knowing she was probably already blushing like crazy.

"You caught my attention the other day. Since I hadn't seen you around here before."

W-w-what? What did he mean by that? He was standing pretty close to her. Akira did not know if she could take it.

"Um, hello? Can you speak?"

Akira let out a nervous laugh.

"Um, y-y-yeah. Of-of course I can."

He let out a small laugh that sent a warm feeling to her chest.

"Well, what a relief."

"Um, yeah?" Akira wondered if it was alright for her heart to flutter so fast. Was he really as close as he felt? What was the matter with her? It's not like they were touching or anything!

"So, where are you headed off to then?" He leaned his face towards hers slightly.

She sucked in a breath. She could not respond for a moment. His eyes were so captivating. They were a red-brown combination that just made him seem like he was not of this world. She tried to glance away, feeling a little overwhelmed, her cheeks heated up again. Had a guy's face ever been so close to hers before? Akira did not know what to do.

"Uh-uh-um," She took a deep breath, hoping to somehow not embarrass herself further. "I-I-I w-was j-just on my way home." For some reason, Akira had the strange feeling that she should not have told him that. Out of her peripheral vision, she thought she noticed him smirk.

He leaned away from her face slightly just to slowly sling his arm around her shoulders.

"All by yourself? ~" He asked right into her ear. She inhaled sharply again, his warm breath against her ear made her shudder. Why was he doing this? Why would he have any interest in her what so ever?

"Uh-uh, well yeah-"

"But don't you normally walk home with your friend Sora?"

Wait, how did he know that? This whole knowing a bunch of info on me thing was really starting to unnerve Akira. Yet, somehow it was not tuning her attractions away from him.

Akira began to wonder if she really was crazy as she thought about this.

"Yeah, well, Sora started her new job today. She had to head over there soon after school so I had to walk home by myself."

Izaya made a tsking sound.

"Well, you know, it really isn't very safe for a teenage girl to walk through the city by herself. Especially for someone like you who is so new to living in the city. Who knows what could happen to you?"

Akira gulped. She could not help but feel that Sora would say that he is one of those people she should look out for in this type of situation.

"It certainly wouldn't feel right in my conscious if I were to just let you walk through the city alone knowing how dangerous that would be."

Akira looked up at him, slightly confused.

"Would you mind if I were to walk with you to your home? I don't have to if it makes you uncomfortable, I would just feel better about your safety if you weren't alone."

Why did he even care?

"Oh um, it's-it's quite alright O-Orihara-san. Y-you d-don't have to do that. I-I'll be fine. I-I'm sure y-you have things you n-need to do anyways, so I wouldn't want to g-get in the way of- "

"Oh, nonsense, Miss Kiyota. Why, you wouldn't be interrupting anything. I was on my break as a matter of fact. It would really be no trouble at all. I would actually like to escort you home, so really, I insist. Please ease my guilty heart, miss?"

Akira wondered if the man's sweetness was too good to be true, yet she still could not help herself from swooning at his words.

Akira knew she should not let him. Sora would definitely say so. Yet, Izaya did make some good points. She just hoped her own attraction was not making her blind to reason. Besides, it was not like he was going to come into her apartment or anything.

"Well um, sure I suppose. You can walk with me if you like." Akira felt like her voice sounded so small as she said that.

Izaya grinned slyly again.

"Oh. Good."He removed his arm from her shoulders."Well, then lead the way, Akira-chan."

Of course, Akira was not aware that Izaya already fully knew the way to her apartment, having been there before.

She glanced away for a moment hoping he would not notice her cheeks tint again. Chan? Why would he call her that?

Izaya had of course noticed and his grin grew wider at the sight. He chose not to say anything though, as Akira began walking towards her home again. He followed, walking beside her, on the side closest to the street.

Izaya was very surprised that she had accepted his company so easily. She really was very interesting. Clearly, Akira wanted to respect Sora's advice, and had tried to act wary around him. Yet, it was so obvious how much she still liked him. It really was very easy for him to get her really flustered. This was rather adorable and amusing. Normally Izaya would not even bother with the innocent seeming types, yet something was different about this one. Partly because of how hard she had clearly fallen for him despite how contradictory it seemed to her personality. It very much so intrigued Izaya. He definitely wanted to learn more about this human. Plus, it helped that she was so entertaining to play with. He had the feeling that he could get many various amounts of reactions out of her and he looked forward to doing just that.

However, it would be more fun in this game to go gradually. Despite how much she seemed to battle with it internally, Izaya knew that it would be easy to get her to say yes to him. Izaya felt that this human was going to be very fun for him for a while.

* * *

The beginning of their walk felt awkwardly quiet, well at least it did to Akira. After a couple of minutes, Izaya had struck up a casual conversation. There was nothing too unusual about it, he was just simply asking her normal getting-to-know-you type of questions. Akira still stuttered a lot and avoided meeting his eyes as she answered his questions. Gradually during their stroll though, Akira's stuttering began to calm down a bit. She was becoming a little bit more at ease interacting with him. It seemed to Akira that he was trying to put her at ease but asking simple questions. He most likely had noticed her nervousness. She felt grateful that he was trying to make her more comfortable around him.

He really did not seem like he could be that dangerous though, especially when he was being so polite like this. Of course, she would still head Sora's advice, but still feel doubtful while doing so. After all, it was the least Akira could do since Sora was letting Akira stay with her and her family while Akira's parents were on a long business trip out of the country. They were practically sisters now.

Akira had gone from uncontrollable nervous fidgeting to a bright shy smile to herself by the time they finally got close to her apartment. He really did seem very chivalrous.

As they stopped in front of her apartment, she turned to face him, not even trying to hide the huge smile on her face anymore.

"T-thank you, Orihara-san, f-for walking me home. That was very kind of you." She enthusiastically bowed at him.

He beamed amusedly again.

"Why, you are most certainly welcome, Miss Akira-chan."

Every time he called her that she blushed, and he had definitely noticed. She started to reach forward to hug him but then stopped herself, putting her arms at her sides again. W-was that okay? After all, she barely knew this man. She suddenly felt embarrassed again at how awkward she was. It made her almost want to cry. Izaya had of course noticed the motion.

He leered at her.

"You know, Akira…"

Before Akira could really think about it, Izaya moved his face towards hers and brushed his lips lightly against hers. It was barely three seconds before he pulled away again.

The sly grin had reappeared on his face.

"You can call me Izaya." Without another word, Izaya skipped away, leaving a stunned Akira in front of her apartment.

* * *

Izaya laughed to himself, and lightly brushed his lips with his fingers. He felt he should not have been surprised by how sweet her lips her, even though the kiss had been so brief. He smirked lecherously to himself. He had just wanted to fluster her again, he did not think he would have actually enjoyed it. Despite how brief it had been and that since it was so brief she did not get the chance to kiss back. Izaya pondered how he could have liked such a sweet chaste kiss. He looked forward to going after that sweetness again. Oh, how he loved humans. This was going to be more fun that he had originally thought. He hummed a random jolly tune.

* * *

For a moment, Akira just stood there as Izaya's retreating form skipped away. She could not think. Akira did not know how long she stood like that, before she brought trembling fingers to touch her lips. T-t-that was my f-f-first kiss…Izaya Orihara was my first kiss. She had not expected this at all. It really did not make any sense that he kissed her. She still could not convince her that this had just actually happened. It was a fairly innocent kiss, but Akira did not care about that. It was meaningful to her.

His-his lips were so…soft. She had expected a man who was supposedly dangerous to be very rough, and yet he had not been with her. It was amazing that his lips had been so soft. The way they had tenderly brushed against her own made her feel as though he was being tender because her lips were something precious, that he cared about. They had been so warm too. It had felt so…nice. She felt so fluttery afterwards. He had closed his eyes when he has leaned in. With how brief the kiss was, she could not tell on his face whether or not he liked it. But based on the subtle movement of his lidded eyes, she had guessed that he did even though it was too short for her to really be able to tell.

Akira wondered if she should even bother trying to make sense of what had happened. Part of her wanted to just marvel at the fact that it had. She could not even bring her mind to wonder if it would happen that time. She could not even think about what this meant now. Akira was still too dazed. Somehow the moment had felt…magical. She very gradually began to awaken from her daze, but only enough to be able to move. She placed her hand over her chest, felt her eyes shut, and slowly slid down against the door of the apartment so she was now sitting against the door. She had not even made it inside the apartment. She did not want that moment to end. She just wanted to continue to reminisce in the heartfelt joy she had found from it.

That warm feeling, she had gotten from the peck, that feeling of being just right, safe, comforted completely, and of adoring love, was a feeling she had been desired for a long time. She had so very much so desired the ability to feel completely comforted even for just a brief moment. Normally, Akira would be embarrassed with herself by how charmed she had become over something as simple as a peck. She would feel that it was so elementary to treasure something so incredibly innocent. Yet, in this moment, she could not bring herself to think about how silly it was to feel like this.

No doubt the embarrassed feeling would come to her once she had snapped out of her trance. The return of feeling embarrassed would probably follow not long after Sora were to come home and discover her friend's pathetic state. There was probably no doubt that Akira was going to hear another lecture from Sora about Izaya. Not only letting Izaya walk her home, but also from the fact that Izaya had kissed her.

Akira truly had no idea just how much things were going to change.

 **A/N: I don't have anything against Masaomi. It's just my OC that does.**


	3. Chapter 3 (Lectures and Questions)

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait for the update. Anyways, enjoy!**

Chapter 3

Sora had been giving Akira what seemed like ongoing lectures for the past day since discovering Akira in her dazed state at their front door.

Akira groaned in exasperation as Sora continued on with her scolding again while they were at school the next day.

"I mean, do you realize what could have happened from showing that insane man where you live!?"

Akira knelt down to exchange the books she needed for her class from her locker.

"And he…he…he kissed you! I can't believe he did that! You barely know each other! Well, actually I can believe that knowing the kind of person he is." Sora trailed off and paused for a second, as though recollecting something. "But still, you could have done something, Akira. You didn't have to let him kiss you."

Akira straightened up again, looked at Sora, and sighed. She knew that Sora was just looking out for her, but this was starting to get annoying.

"Sora, look, I didn't know he was going to kiss me. It happened so fast. And even if I were able to have done something, you know how hopeless I am when it comes to my feelings. I'm not sure if I could have prevented it, nor would I have wanted to." They started walking down the hallway to go to Sora's locker.

Sora sighed and rubbed her temples.

"I know Akira. I know it's hard for you to say no when you really like a guy, but Akira, I'm really concerned for you regarding this."

Suddenly, Sora just stopped walking. Akira stopped as well and looked at her friend in perplexion. There was an atypical look on Sora's face. It seemed like a mix of shock and anxiety. Realizing that her friend was staring at someone, Akira followed Sora's gaze to the pair of boys standing somewhat in front of them in the hallway.

The boy with the golden blonde hair stared back at Sora with a similar expression to Sora's. His hair was edged somewhat in his face and he had hazel eyes. There was a silver earring cupped over part of the edge of his right ear.

Wait a second; I've seen this guy before. That's right! He's in the same class as us.

Kida Masaomi Akira thought his name was.

She remembered something from the first day of school.

* * *

As Sora and she were picking their seats, Sora had a disgusted expression on her face when she saw that he was sitting in front of her in class. Akira had wondered about it, yet somehow never got around to asking Sora what that was about. Actually, Masaomi was kind of hard to forget now that Akira had thought about it. He had given himself a pretty memorable introduction of himself to the class.

He had stated rather loudly that he wasn't as mature as they would expect him to be and he had chuckled rather heartily. He seemed like a very outgoing and funny guy. Akira had even thought he was kind of cute, but of course it was nothing like how she felt for Izaya. During his whole introduction, and every time he would speak up rather comically in class, Akira noticed that Sora would seem to be mocking him under her breath with a disgusted look on her face. Although, Akira never heard what Sora had said.

Why would Sora react that way to Masaomi?

He had even seemed to gather a reputation for hitting on almost every girl he saw, and typically getting turned down. Strangely enough though, it had seemed that Sora and herself were in the minority of girls who he never hit on by him. In fact, it almost seemed like he tried to avoid them.

* * *

The boy next to Masaomi, who had very short dark brown hair and light blue eyes, peered at his friend with the same concerned look she had given Sora herself only seconds earlier. Akira had seen him with Masaomi a lot too, now that she thought about it, but she didn't know his name. He seemed much quieter that his outgoing friend and Akira thought she had seen him blushing a lot because of his rambunctious friend.

The brunette then locked eyes with Akira, and they shared a look of confusion and curiosity. It was almost as though each were silently probing the other for some type of explanation regarding their friends' behaviors. Then he glanced back at Masaomi. Masaomi's look of shock had turned into one of reservation and guilt. Odd. Akira had only seen him as amused and carefree. He looked down at his shoes and shifted awkwardly.

Akira glanced at Sora questioningly again. Sora's apprehensive expression shifted into one of contempt. Sora arched her eyebrows and glared at Masaomi. Then, seemingly in a huff, Sora roughly grabbed Akira's wrist and rushed past the two boys seemingly as quickly as she could. After seeing that they were far enough past the two, Sora relinquished Akira's wrist and exhaled a breath.

"My point is for you to at least try, Akira. I mean, this isn't just some school boy you are crushing on. This is a man who has assisted in many different dangerous businesses. Letting him know any of your weaknesses can end up being very bad for you. This is especially since he comes across as so unstable."

Sora stopped in front of her locker, and exchanged the books she needed.

Akira just shot Sora an incredulous expression.

She's really going to continue the conversation we were already having like nothing weird just happened?

"Sora, um, what was that about? Back there?"

Sora hesitated and glanced away from Akira.

"I mean, he wasn't on your list of people to stay away from, so why did you act like that around him? Is he someone I should be concerned about too?"

Sora sighed and reluctantly met Akira's eyes. There was an unfocused gleam to her eyes, as though she were remembering something.

"No…I didn't warn you about him because he's not dangerous. Well that is, not physically…"

Sora mumbled that last statement to herself, but Akira still heard it.

"Regarding him…that's just my own personal problems with him. I didn't mention it before because, well, I figured it didn't really affect you I guess. Honestly, I would rather you stay away from him as well, but that's just because I don't want to deal with him. He's not technically someone to be wary of, if you wanted to interact with him that is."

"Sora, um, what exactly happened to make you feel this way?"

Sora slammed her locker closed rather hard, but did not appear to be mad at Akira though.

"It…it doesn't really matter…"

"Sora…"

"I'll tell you eventually, alright? I just…don't really want to get into it right now. I hope that's okay."

Sora would not look at Akira as she was saying all of this. Akira just nodded. She would respect her friend's wishes. Since she knew how she felt around this boy, Akira would not go out of her way to interact with him if it made Sora this uncomfortable. Of course, she would not be rude to him either though. She just was not that type of person. Her friendship was more important to her though. Especially since Sora was more like family than just a friend.

"Alright, I'll let it go for now."

Sora bashfully looked up at Akira again and gave her a small smile in appreciation. The two friends walked home peacefully with no interruptions from a certain info broker.

* * *

Masaomi let out a sigh as he noticed Sora rush past them, dragging her friend with her. He hated what he was reminded of every time he saw Sora. He hated that look she gave him, like he was an abhorred person who couldn't ever be forgiven. This was especially since every time she gave him that glare and he thought about that…incident, he felt as though he was as awful as she seemed to think that he was. He only wished there was a way for him to fix his wrongs.

 _She_ certainly had not deserved any of it…

Mikado was very concerned with the way his friend looked at that moment. He had not even tried to hit on those two girls, and that was very rare for his best friend.

"Um uh…Masaomi?"

Masaomi slowly glanced up at Mikado, looking dreadful.

"Um uh…what-what was that about back there? I-I mean, you didn't even try to flirt with those two girls. That's very unlike you."

Masaomi tried to give Mikado a small smile, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Oh, Mikado…that's something I'll get into later. Alright?"

Mikado frowned but nodded at his friend. He knew there was something upsetting Masaomi that he wasn't telling him, but Mikado wasn't sure what to do about it. He was not used to Masaomi being like this. He just hoped eventually that Masaomi would reveal what it was to him, since he did not want to pry about it.

"Um, okay Masaomi. Wh-whatever you say."

Masaomi's smile turned more genuine at that, and then more mischievous.

"Now let's go pick up some chicks!"

Masaomi chuckled heartily at Mikado's amusing cries of protest. Ignoring his friend's resistance, he began to drag Mikado to the park. There he would most likely hit on older women just to be turned down by every one of them, like what usually happened.

 **A/N: I added an important physical description of Sora to chapter 2. Sorry, I wasn't sure where to put it before. I hope it makes sense where I put it.**


	4. Chapter 4 (Next Move)

**A/N: I am looking over this to see if I need to edit anything regarding grammar. Sorry, I don't use a beta. I like to get feedback from multiple people anyways. Please let me know what you think!**

Chapter 4

Akira froze when she saw Izaya nonchalantly leaning on the wall next to her apartment door. He had a Cheshire cat grin on as face, seeming like he had been waiting for her.

Since Akira had not run into Izaya while she was walking home, she had assumed that she would not be seeing him today. Yet here he was, waiting by her apartment door. Akira was not sure what this meant.

* * *

At certain times of the week, Izaya would show up seemingly out of nowhere and walk her home. Akira noticed that he only approached her when she was walking home alone, never when Sora was with her (like when Sora was working at her job at Russia Sushi). She knew that this should probably be a red flag to her, but for some reason, this did not scare her.

Akira couldn't put her finger on it, but from the moment Akira had first seen Izaya, she felt like there was almost something familiar about him that she couldn't seem to explain. Perhaps that was why her fascination with him had started. Akira knew that Sora had suspected this, and most likely had an idea as to why Akira felt this way. Yet, for some reason, Akira wasn't sure she wanted to know what Sora thought it was.

* * *

Since Sora had suggested Akira find someone to walk her home when Sora wasn't there, Akira had considered asking the brunette boy who hang around Masaomi a lot. He seemed like a nice enough guy, even despite the reaction his friend got out of Sora. She had the feeling he would probably be polite to accompany her. From what she had observed, he even seemed like he might be similar to her in personality; that is, a shy and kind person.

However, Akira saw that he usually walked home with his two friends. She didn't want to take him away from that, since he seemed so content with it. Plus, Akira had noticed that his trio always walked home in the complete opposite direction from where Sora and she lived. Akira didn't want to take him out of his way home. Therefore, she had been too shy to even bring up the matter due to these thoughts. Akira was not sure who else to ask though.

Akira had not made very many friends besides Sora, mainly because of her own shy personality. She was not sure who else to consider asking to accompany her. Akira never noticed any other classmates come their way home, although she was not sure why.

* * *

Akira had not really tried to tell Izaya off, even with Sora's warnings. When she would start to, the words would get caught in her mouth as her gave her that look which always seemed to melt her inside.

He had not tried to kiss her since the first. Although, he would typically give her a hug goodbye before leaving. Each time the hug seemed longer and more intimate.

Akira hadn't yet told Sora about his appearances yet though.

Akira could not seem to help how fast her heart was thrumming when she saw him waiting there by her apartment.

Why was he here? He didn't walk her home, so why would he be here?

Izaya seemed to be growing increasingly more amused by her stunned silence. His red-brown eyes were boring into hers mischievously the entire time. Her face grew very hot as she undoubtedly blushed rather brightly. Her cheeks began to burn even more when she realized just how long she had just been standing there gawking at him.

Akira turned away from him for a moment to try and compose herself. She took in a shaky breath and exhaled, but that didn't seem to calm her nerves at all. Akira thought she heard a muffled giggle come from the man behind her. She attempted a few more deep breaths before turning around to face him again. She had thought her breathing had calmed down enough for her to speak normally, just for him to shoot her an irresistible smile.

Akira wasn't sure if she could breathe normally. She shook her head erratically to try to get a hold of herself, squeezing her eyes closed stubbornly.

These actions to try and compose herself, little to her knowledge, were coming across to Izaya as very cute. He could watch her adorable flustered actions all day if he could. They were simply never tiring.

Finally exhaling a long breathe, Akira attempted to give Izaya a calm expression. She willed her body to seem more normal and less nervous, with a lot of restraint.

"Or-Orihar…I-I-I-I mean…um…I-Izaya…"

Curse that stutter! She tried to clear her throat, but it turned into a rather high-pitched fit of coughing.

Izaya thought she almost sounded like a kawaii kitten sneezing. As she got over her coughing fit, Akira faced Izaya again with a shaky determined expression on her face.

"I-Izaya…san? W-what are you doing here?"

He smirked at her again, causing her to immediately look to the floor.

Darnit!

"Well~, you see, Akira-chan~, I've been doing some thinking. It's one thing to walk you home so you're not alone in the city, but you're by yourself for a long time the days Sora has to work. I imagine that would get rather lonely, and might be just as dangerous as walking home alone. So, I thought it would a courteous thing to keep you company until Sora or her parents come back home."

Akira's tried to put her apartment key into the key hole, but struggled with how much her hand was shaking.

Sora hated the idea of Izaya walking Akira home. She would be even more anxious about the idea of Izaya entering their apartment! It's not like she could really keep him from coming in if he wanted to though. He was a pretty dominant person. Plus, he always seemed to make good points when he wanted something. Akira sighed as she finally managed to unlock the door.

"Th-that's quite alright, I-Izaya…san."

"Meroooow!" Akira smiled as Sora's small gray cat scurried over to her.

"Hi Kiko!" Akira cooed. She knelt down in front of the cat and giggled as the cat nuzzled against her hand.

"I'm not alone anyways. I have Kiko!"

The cat purred and rubbed against Akira's leg possessively.

Izaya chuckled.

"Well, I suppose cats are quite consoling. But, that's not the same as human companionship. Besides, can this small cat protect should something happen?"

Izaya took a step forward as though to pet the cat as well, but Kiko hissed at him and bared her teeth.

Akira laughed when she saw the bewildered expression on Izaya's face from the cat's reaction.

"I think she can protect me better than you realize, Izaya-san." Akira picked Kiko and pet the cat soothingly, trying to get her to calm down.

After getting over his shock, Izaya chuckled again.

"Perhaps. She does seem feisty~." He cooed the last part towards the cat, who ignored him and kept purring into Akira. Akira giggled quietly again.

"But, I think she's no match for me though."

He quickly flung out his flick blade and held it up in a way that Akira could see the light gleam against the blade. Akira's eyes widened when she saw it.

"I always keep this blade with me, and it has helped me on many occasions. I think I'm much more suited to protect you with this by my side." He flicked it closed again and slid it into his coat pocket. Akira gave him a shy smile, and finally moved out of the doorway to let him in. He skipped into the apartment humming a jolly tune that Akira didn't recognize and Akira closed the door behind her.

"I can't promise you I'll be very interesting though." Akira let the cat down again, seeing that she had calmed down. Kiko curled up near the couch and went to sleep. Akira fidgeted with her fingers.

"I-I mean, um, I do have homework that I need to do."

"Oh, that's quite alright. I can entertain myself while you do your homework." He skipped into the room that Sora and she shared. Akira followed behind him. She sat down at her desk and got her homework out.

"Just let me know if you need anything~."

Akira heard him sing somewhat behind her.

Wait a minute, shouldn't she be asking him that? He was her guest after all. Out of the corner of her eye, Akira noticed that Izaya had turned on the computer Sora and she shared, on the other side of the room. She wondered why he was doing that.

He's probably just going to look some things up on the internet, like a lot of people do. Should she be concerned that he was on their computer? It wasn't like there was anything on there he would find of value. Akira tried to convince herself that she had nothing to worry about.

Yeah, Sora's paranoia is just getting to you. That's all. She should just appreciate the fact that he was giving her time to do her homework. She just needs to get it over with. Sora's been harping on her about her lack of focus in school lately anyways. Akira rolled her eyes at the thought. Sometimes it felt like Sora nagged her more than Akira's own mother did. Akira understood why Sora was so protective, but still! She really wished that she could convince her friend that she isn't as helpless as Sora thinks. Then again, what had Akira ever done to prove otherwise?

Although, doing her homework would be hard to focus on with the subject of most of her daydreams being in the same room as her. She knew she really needed to try though. School used to be her greatest distraction.

Akira groaned when she saw how many assignments she needed to get done. Pacing herself for the workload that lied ahead of her, Akira decided she should start with a subject that typically succeeded in gaining all of her attention. History. It also helped that she didn't mind the subject matter. Akira got started on it.

* * *

Akira was relieved that she was able to focus on her history homework, and finished it faster than she would have expected. After that, Akira was in the zone. She was able to work on her assignments for her other subjects as well. By getting past her difficulty in focusing, the rest of her homework wasn't taking very long to complete. School usually came fairly easy to her once she gets past the distraction barrier.

Every so often Akira would vaguely hear a quiet yet unhinged giggle come from Izaya's direction. She would quickly glance over to him but then go back to her work, not wanting to break her working streak. He appeared to be reading something, but she tried not to distract herself with wondering what it could be. However, she still managed to wonder what had made him laugh, but tried to write it off as probably some silly internet thing.

Is he really perfectly fine just searching on my computer while I'm doing my homework? What was the real purpose of coming here then?

Akira completed more homework. She was almost done. Just one math assignment and then she was home free. But then what? She was getting more nervous and distracted as she heard his laughing and other quiet reactions to whatever he was doing. Akira sighed, and continued with her work.

Almost done. Just a few more problems left…

"My my~, Akira, you are such~ a good writer."

Akira froze when she heard that.

No. He couldn't be talking about what she thought he was talking about, could he? Akira tried to calm her breathing as she slowly stood up and walked over to him. She needed to make sure he wasn't reading what she thought he was. As she stopped short a little bit behind him, she peered over to see what was on the screen. Her eyes widened and she froze like a statue when her fears were confirmed.

Akira was a creative writer, and she liked to write about things she felt strongly about. Writing helped her deal with things. It had for a long time. Lately though, all she had written about was him. Akira had often written about crushes she had liked in the past, but not as much as she had with Izaya.

There were various types of written pieces regarding Izaya that she had written. And she had placed them all on the same file! Akira felt like such an idiot right now. Of course he would be curious enough to open a file that was titled with his name! She had placed a password on the file though, so she didn't think anyone would be able to open it. Apparently, that hadn't been able to stop Izaya from accessing it though. She hadn't told anyone about this file though, not even Sora! It was too embarrassing. She had hoped that nobody would ever see it.

In there, she had various poems about 'd written one about his looks, her feelings towards him, and how brave he had seemed. She'd also written fan fiction-like type of love stories about herself and him. It appeared that one of these stories was currently being displayed on the screen.

Oh gosh! It was one of her most personal and embarrassing stories about him that she had written. It was extremely gushy, sappy, not to mention completely unrealistic. According to Sora, romance in the real world wasn't like a fairytale unlike what is depicted on TV and in fiction. Although Akira was not as pessimistic as Sora when it came to romance, she understood that there were no real prince charmings.

Akira was completely mortified. She was not even mad at him for snooping on her computer. She was too embarrassed to feel any other emotion. Akira was positive that she would die of embarrassment right then and there. Izaya spun around in the spinny desk chair to face her. His smile was much wider than he had seen him wear, yet still came across as catlike. There was definitely a gleam of amusement in his eyes when he looked at her. For a moment Akira thought she saw a very faint pink dust his cheeks, but she immediately brushed it off because there was no way that Izaya Orihara would blush.

"I-I-I-Izaya…y-y-y-you…" Akira felt her whole body shake uncontrollably. His grin seemed to grow even wider at that. Akira raised her shaky fingers up towards her face, and tried to hide behind her shaking hands. A soft whimper sounded in her throat.

This couldn't be happening!

"Y-y-y-y-you weren't supposed to see that." She mumbled softly into her hands, unsure whether or not he understood her. A high-pitched muffled giggle came from him. There was a rolling sound as Izaya stood up from the desk chair. Through the spaces in between her fingers Akira could see that Izaya had stepped close to her. Gentle hands pried her hands from her face, and Akira looked up at Izaya's intent peering gaze. Her shaking stopped. She did not think he could be that gentle.

There was a softness to his eyes that Akira did not know that Izaya was capable of. He stepped even closer to her so that Akira could feel the warmth of his body against hers. He let go of her hands, and raised one of his hands to softly twine his fingers in her hair. He began to stroke his fingers tenderly through her hair. For a moment, Akira wasn't sure if she could breathe.

He brought up his other hand to caress the other side of her face until it cupped her cheek.

"It's ok, Akira." He said very softly.

Her heart began to flutter rapidly again. Both of his hands were holding the sides of her head now. She saw his eyes lid as he leaned in closer to her. Suspecting what was to come, Akira closed her eyes as well. She felt his lips against hers again. At first it was a simple brushing of lips like last time when he pulled away slightly. Then Akira felt his fingers thread her hair again as he drew in again, this time it wasn't just a simple peck.

It was simply a simple kiss, yet slightly deeper than before. His lips moved against hers with more intensity, yet still being gentle. She was surprised by the change in kiss, but felt herself eagerly responding back. She wrapped her arms around him as he pulled her closer. His lips were just as soft and warm as last time, except this time there was something else. She was feeling something thrilling. This was making her really happy in ways she didn't really understand. His fingers gripped tighter into her hair, yet still without hurting her.

The way he was moving felt like he just couldn't get as close to her as he wanted to. He kept pulling her more and more against him. She felt warm and tingly everywhere their bodies touched.

Everything about this just felt right. Definitely more so than the first time. Forget thinking. She wanted this moment to last.

She was safe. She was warm. She felt protected.

* * *

For a while now, Akira felt like she was always scared. She always felt paranoid, like nowhere was safe. Despite what people would tell her, she couldn't seem to help feeling nervous. Even at night she was terrified. The darkness would remind her of those painful times in her past. Going to sleep always chanced the nightmares from due to what had happened, and how hard it would be to go back to sleep afterwards. For some reason, despite the dangerous vibe Izaya gave off, she didn't feel that way around him. The only time she didn't feel scared anymore seemed to be when he was kissing her, or simply being in his arms. Perhaps it was okay to go with her feeling on this one besides thinking too much. It's not like he would do worse than what had already been done to her, yet for some reason Akira trusted that he wouldn't even come close to that.

* * *

Akira was not sure how long a kiss was supposed to last, but this felt like a while. Not that she had any problem with that. His kisses were feeling more desperate, like he couldn't get enough of her. The pace of his lips against hers had increased as well. As much as he seemed addicted to kissing her and getting closer, he never went farther. He seemed perfectly content with the pace they were at.

Then again, Akira had no idea what going farther would mean anyways. She didn't think about what that could mean at the time though. After what felt like a while, Izaya finally pulled away just to rest his forehead against hers. He didn't give her any more space, still holding her just as intimately close to him as he had during their kiss. She felt his breath tickled her face, sending shivers throughout her. They were both breathing hard from how long the kiss had been.

Akira froze again when she felt his lips against her ear.

"I actually really liked your writing, Akira~" He murmured softly into her ear. "You're very~ talented." She felt him smile against her. She could tell the voice he was using was meant to be seductive, and gosh did it make her just melt on the inside. She had trouble finding the word to describe how she felt during that second kiss. In that moment though, it finally came to her. It was electric.

* * *

Izaya was not sure what came over him to kiss her then. There was just something about her…

He had started this just for fun, and this was _definitely_ fun.

* * *

Even though Akira hadn't said anything, Sora knew that something had happened with Akira and Izaya while she was at work that day. When Sora came home that day Akira seemed…different. She was acting very dreamily again, like the last time…when Izaya had kissed her. At least she was moving this time though. Her face was definitely a lot rosier than it was last time. Sora just knew that this would only end in heartbreak for her fragile friend. Something had to be done. She knew who she had to go to. As much as she didn't want to go to him, Sora wasn't sure who else would be able to help her. She just hoped he would be willing to help. Sora thought he would.

 **A/N: Are the page breaks helping at all?**


	5. Chapter 5 (Protection?)

**A/N: So, one of the reasons this update took a while is because I kept changing my mind about how I wanted this chapter to go. I think this turned out well though, so I hope you like it.**

Chapter 5

*The Next Day*

Why is he the first one I thought of?

Sora asked herself this as she looked through her phone contacts.

Part of her did realize that it was unfair to associate Masaomi with Izaya.

Sora thought getting more info on Izaya might help her to protect Akira more. She thought that maybe if she could get more information on him she could discover a weakness and if she does then maybe she could use that to somehow protect Akira from him.

She realized that maybe getting more info on Izaya would not do her any good. This was Izaya Orihara after all! Sometimes it was like he ran Ikebukuro. However, Sora was beginning to feel desperate about protecting Akira. Especially since Izaya was slyly slithering closer and closer to Akira.

Akira was so fragile. She always seemed to practically idolize her crushes. They would occupy so much of her mind, and she would seem like she'd want them more and more involved in her life. (Theoretically that is since her crushes before had never seemed to pay Akira any mind.) Almost like she thought giving more of herself to her desired crush would insure her greatest protection. But Sora knew how badly that could end! Sora had worked so hard to make sure Akira didn't completely give her heart over to any guys yet. Any other guy and Sora might have been able to protect Akira. Izaya, however, gave Sora such shivers. Nothing was more dangerous than viewing a deadly tiger like a majestic creature who was as harmless as its soft fur.

Sora knew that Masaomi was no expert on Izaya. If anything, Saki would probably be a better person to ask about Izaya. Saki was a girl who Sora was very close to in middle school. Sora still calls her a friend, but they haven't been as close since Saki ended up in the hospital. Sora would still visit her sometimes in the hospital, but they definitely did not talk as much as they used to. Saki would talk about Izaya all the time. It was no secret that Saki has some sort of unhealthy idolization of Izaya Orihara.

Saki may know a lot about Izaya, but since she idolized him so, there was no way Saki would aid in Sora's attempt at going against him. Plus, if Sora were to go to Saki for information, she really would not be surprised if Saki told Izaya about the conversation. Saki had always made clear who her main loyalties lie in.

Masaomi may not have been Izaya's "apprentice", but the two guys had seemed close during the gang wars. At least, they had to Sora. Since Sora had been such good friends with Saki, she had ended up being around Masaomi and Izaya a lot in middle school. Izaya would aid Masaomi in the war between the Yellow Scarves and the Blue Squares.

However, given how things had turned out in the war along with Saki ending up in the hospital, Sora had no doubt that Masaomi would be willing to help go against Izaya. Like Sora, Masaomi was wary of Izaya as well.

No, that wasn't the issue. That wasn't why she was hesitant to do this.

Sora finally came across the name she had looked for. Masaomi's name shown on her screen. There was a really silly picture of Masaomi smiling cheekily as his picture in her phone contacts. He must have taken the picture on her phone once when she wasn't looking. That was totally something he would have done. Sora tried to refrain from thinking nostalgically about times in middle school. That wouldn't help her now.

Many times, when Sora would pass over his name in her phone she would ask herself why she hadn't deleted his number. She never talked to him anymore, so what was the point in keeping his number? Izaya would surely have a field day with this.

Perhaps now keeping Masaomi's number would come in handy?

She clicked on his name in her contacts and just looked at the text icon.

She already went over why she should ask him. This was for Akira after all. Sora was about to click the button to add text when a surge of memories played in her head. They started with humorous and happy memories of when the three were friends in middle school. Yet almost immediately the memories became upsetting as events surrounding Saki's accident played in her mind.

She suddenly snapped her phone closed and threw it on the bed.

This was ridiculous. Why couldn't she just get it over with? This was for Akira. She couldn't let her own personal issues get in the way of protecting her friend. Akira was way more important after all. Still unable to just text him, Sora contemplated whether a walk would help her clear her head. She took a deep breath and slipped her phone back into her pocket.

Saki used to tell Sora that Izaya suggested watching other humans in ordinary life when you are uncertain what to do. Sora rolled her eyes at the memory. Saki really seemed to see herself as Izaya's "little apprentice". This used to always drive Sora crazy. She wondered how little Izaya probably thought of Saki.

Despite mentally mocking the reason behind Saki's advice, Sora decided to try it anyways. Unsure yet where she was going, Sora simply breathed in the Ikebukuro air as she attempted to take a calm walk.

* * *

This was one of the few days in the week where Sora didn't have to work. Homework didn't seem very inviting in that moment, especially when she was so distracted from worrying.

At least she didn't need to worry about leaving Akira alone. At the moment, Akira was at her therapist appointment. Sora's own parents had taken Akira, so this reassured Sora some.

As much as Sora did not like Izaya, she allowed herself to try this watching humans' suggestion. (Yes, being fully aware of the irony in why she was doing this.) Ever since Sora was in middle school, she had always noticed that Ikebukuro was a city that was always bustling. It had awed her when it was still new.

Cool wind blew against her, opposite of the way she was actually walking. So many people bustled about. Some going her way, some going the opposite way, all at different paces for whatever was going on. They almost seemed gray with how varied and blurred some of their paces appeared. Maybe there was something behind this people watching thing. It was almost...peaceful.

Only outward appearances showed, yet when one is focusing on watching the interactions of those around them, its difficult not to wonder what goes in their lives. What kind of people are they? What have they learned from experiences? What does Ikebukuro mean to them?

Remembering who also got a pleasure from people watching, she tried to shake away getting too caught up into it.

Gosh, I've been thinking about Izaya and Saki _way_ too much. Even though she wouldn't ponder how to play with people, like a certain info broker, she still did not like the idea of having anything in common with that snake. Honestly, she just wished he would go away so she wouldn't have to deal with him anymore.

The faint sound of a horse neigh could be heard in the distance. Sora of course recognized the sound, although she had never seen the legend herself. At one point, she thought she heard incomprehensible yelling and the harsh clinging of metal on metal.

Street fighting maybe? Probably best to avoid wherever that is coming from.

Going into her own thoughts, Sora contemplated how the city was of course not nearly as peaceful as it seemed. There was an almost hidden danger to the city, possibly hidden in each crevice and part of it all. Sora had experienced for herself some of the city's dangers. It could be wild. Ikebukuro was not a city one should get too comfortable in. Especially with people like Izaya in it.

Gang wars were not as big of a concern as they used to, but that didn't mean they were gone. Sora could almost feel it in her bones. The tensions of gang turf seeking almost seemed to emanate from the shadows encompassing Ikebukuro.

Somewhere in the back of Sora's mind she realizes that she was heading in the direction of _the_ building. The one where Saki said Izaya loved to watch over "his humans" of Ikebukuro. Sora thought she remembered something about there having been many suicide attempts from this building. It struck Sora as extremely messed to enjoy watching over people from a place with such darkness. This definitely seemed like a suspicious thing for Izaya to do in her opinion…yet here she was walking that way, not really being sure why.

A voice somewhere in the back of her mind suggested that maybe it was to try to get into Izaya's thinking by going somewhere he liked to. In a way, to 'put herself in his shoes' type of strategy. She doubted it would do much good, but she had to try something.

"I can see it in your face, you sexy thang~. You~ want me!"

Sora paused in her strolling and looked over at the park she just realized she was walking past. There was the owner to that annoyingly energetic voice. Masaomi Kida was once again failing at picking up older women. It almost made Sora want to laugh…almost. The shy-seeming dark-haired boy Sora had noticed with Masaomi lately started stuttering and blushing. He flailed his arms out in front of him.

"M-Masaomi! You-you can't talk to girls like that!"

Masaomi just waved him off.

"Oh, please, Mikado. They want all of this, they are just afraid to admit it."

The boy, Mikado, simply facepalmed, and hesitantly took a step towards the humiliated ladies, seeming like he was going to apologize for his friend's actions.

Masaomi's literally right there. Granted, he's making a fool of himself like usual. Sora found that she was internally arguing with herself again.

You don't have an excuse this time. Go over there and ask him about Izaya! It's for Akira, surely you can be mature enough for her own good?

Yet she remained just watching him.

At some point, while Masaomi tried his attempts on new victims, Mikado noticed Sora watching them and made eye contact with her. Confusion and curiosity shown in his eyes. Sora suddenly glanced away, feeling her cheeks heat up slightly at being caught watching the pair.

She tried to subtly speed walk away from the park. She already had a sense that Masaomi's eyes were following her. Masaomi had most likely followed his friend's glance and seen her.

Well, that was an epic fail. She really was a coward. How could she protect Akira when she couldn't even find the backbone to prove Izaya that he was wrong? She just really hoped that Masaomi wouldn't try to follow after her. This was embarrassing enough as it was. When she realized that his annoying voice wasn't calling out for her from behind, Sora relaxed slightly. She eased herself back into a normal pace. A few blocks later, Sora felt her mind begin to clear again when she heard,

"Sora-Chan! Hiya!"

Sora paused in her walking and turned towards the direction the voice had come from. Sora had not heard that voice in a long time. A girl, who looked like she was in her twenties, was beaming and waving excitedly as though she drank too much coffee today. She had a loose bun somewhat tucked in a loose black baseball-like hat and was wearing all black.

What was her name again? Sora wanted to say it was maybe…Erika?

Despite remembering having seen Erika before, she wasn't entirely sure why Erika added the -Chan at the end of her name.

Possibly Erika was standing in front of the back of a van. The back of the van was opened up. A pile of mangas lay spewed about on the floor of the van behind her. Another guy, probably also Erika's age, sat cross-legged in the back of the van next to the mound of mangas. He was wearing a light blue hoodie, and he had dirty blonde hair with bangs seemed to make pointed down triangles. He looked like he was squinting, possibly from having just been reading mangas.

Two other guys stood in front of the side of the van, partially leaning on it. One of them had light brown hair somewhat to his shoulders. The other appeared tall and somewhat muscular. He had dark hair covered by a black beanie, and he was wearing a dull green hoodie.

All three of the guys looked up at Sora in response to Erika's energetic greeting.

Sora forced a small smile towards them and crossed the street to chat with them.

Sora had seen this group before. She kind of felt bad about not remembering their names. Then again, other things had occupied her mind when they first met. Plus, Erika stuck out because she had very enthusiastically introduced herself to Sora the first time. She hoped it wasn't obvious that she was hesitant to come over to them.

* * *

Sora didn't have any problem with these guys. It was just that seeing them reminded her of the circumstances which had led to her seeing them last time. And that was during a time she didn't like to remember.

It had been at the hospital, soon after Saki was injured by the Blue Squares.

Sora had been attempting to do her homework when Izaya called her and told about what had happened. Sora had left for the hospital as soon as she could to go see Saki.

Sora met this group in the waiting room. After Erika's introduction, the taller one had asked Sora if she was there for Saki as well. After saying that she was, he then told her that they had been the ones who had saved Saki.

Of course, she had been very grateful to them for doing so. Therefore, she felt very bad now about having not taken the time to learn their names. It wasn't like she had ever seen them since. Honestly, she did not think she would ever see them again.

* * *

Sora walked over to them and bowed politely in greeting, but then began to feel an awkward silence overcome her. One that Erika seemed to be immune to somehow. Sora smiled somewhat shyly at them.

"Hi. It's Erika…right?"

"Yup! I'm glad you remembered me."

"Well, you're kinda hard to forget." Sora said with an amused smile.

They all laughed at that comment.

"I'm honestly surprised you remembered me, Erika. After all, I've only seen you guys one other time."

"Oh, I don't forget names easily. Especially if it's the name of someone as majorly hot as you!"

Sora definitely doesn't blush as much as Akira, but she definitely felt her cheeks heat up from that comment.

"Um…

"Erika, don't scare her away please." The Taller guy said.

"Oh, come on Dotachin! I gave her a compliment. That clearly isn't scaring someone."

"Yeah, but you clearly made her uncomfortable. So, you should stop. And I told you it's Kyohei, not Dotachin."

"Pfft, she might just be modest. Oh my gosh, that just makes her even cuter!"

"Erika- "

"Oh, c'mon Kyohei. Erika's just very blunt. She tells them as she sees them. You know that" Erika's manga buddy said.

Erika just giggled "innocently" at that comment. Kyohei rolled his eyes.

Sora tried smiling again, but her thoughts went back to Akira and Izaya. Her smile came across a bit forced. Kyohei looked back at Sora again and frowned slightly.

"Is something up, Sora?"

She was slightly taken aback by him noticing that anything was off. Erika and Walker stopped their playful banter after hearing Kyohei speak up, and looked to her.

"I mean, besides Erika's straightforwardness that is."

Sora glanced away wondering what to say. Then a thought occurred to her. She was pretty sure they used to be a part of a gang. They were the ones who saved Saki also. Maybe they could help her. She looked up again.

"Um, if you don't mind, I was wondering what you know about Izaya Orihara?"

Kyohei raised his eyebrows.

"Why do you want to know about him?"

Sora sighed.

"Well, because a friend of mine is becoming very captivated by him and I don't know how I can protect her. I've warned her about him, but he seems to have taken an interest in her. And by him taking an interest in her, I don't mean that in a good way if you know what I mean…"

Kyohei simply nodded as though he did. Izaya taking an interest in someone didn't mean that he "liked" them. It typically meant that he found them interesting to play with. Kyohei seemed to know this, Sora thought.

"so yeah…I'm very afraid for her wellbeing. She's kind of, well, fragile. She's been through a lot and I'm very afraid that he's going to break her. I have no idea how to stop him, since I know he's pretty powerful. Do you know anything that might be able to help me at all?"

Kyohei sighed but seemed to think for a moment. The others in the group seemed to have grown quiet from the topic change.

"Well, to be honest, I'm not sure what I know that could help you at all."

"Please. Having any information on him is better than just letting him do whatever he wants with her."

"You sound like you might already know a little but about him Sora- "

"Please, just tell me what you know!" Sora realized she was a little short with him and ducked her head in remorse. He was just trying to help after all. He chose not to comment on her interruption though.

"Well, um, there is one person who seems to be able to stand against him. I'm sure you've heard of him."

"…The bartender?"

"His name is Shizuo Heiwajima. I wouldn't recommend going to him though because he can be kind of chaotic when he's mad."

Sora simply nodded at this, having heard the stories.

"Well, Izaya does have younger sisters. But I don't know how knowing that could help you at all. He doesn't really like them. That, and I don't really know how to contact them if you wanted to ask them anything about him. I don't really know them that well.

There is someone who could probably tell you more about him than me. His name is Shinra Kishitani. He knows Izaya better than anyone. Probably because he's the only one Izaya really considers to be his friend. I'm not sure how much talking with him would help you either though. Not that he wouldn't be willing to help, but Izaya has even held back from telling things to him."

Kyohei sighed. So far, nothing Kyohei had said he seemed confident would be helpful at all.

"If you really want to keep him from messing with your friend, the only thing that I can honestly think of that might do any good unfortunately relates to um shady business. "

Kyohei paused for a moment.

"I'm sure you're aware that there are a good number of gangs in this city. There is one very powerful gang of organized-crime that even Izaya knows to be wary of. However, I certainly wouldn't recommend going anywhere near anybody who is even remotely related to that group. Even though they could stop him from doing something, nothing good could come from working with a shady group like that. I don't think you want to get involved in anything illegal. It just wouldn't be worth it so I'm not sure what to tell you- "

"Well, now what are you all talking about, hmm~?"

Sora tensed when she heard the unfortunately familiar voice come from directly behind her. Almost like he was practically touching her. Slowly, Sora turned around to see gleaming red-brown eyes. Izaya was smirking like he normally did.

When did he get there? More importantly, how long had he been there?

Nobody moved for a moment, sensing the elephant in the room.

He directed his gaze directly on her, sly eyes seeming to take in her shocked reaction.

"Sora, may I have a word with you?" He tilted his head slightly in one direction and began to walk away.

Sora inhaled shortly but then proceeded to follow him. She knew it wasn't a good idea but felt like she didn't have much of a choice. Even though she didn't look back to see their faces, Sora was sure that the van gang had wary expressions as well.

They walked a bit away from the group, and over to the side of a building where not very many people were around. He stopped right in front of a wall and turned to face her again, still smirking. She sighed and walked up to him, trying to keep a personal bubble. Sora tried to avoid eye contact.

"Just what did you think you were going to accomplish miss Sora, hmm~?" He leaned his face slightly towards her. Sora fought the urge to lean away from him. She felt determined to not show him that he was getting to her.

She began to nervously clench and unclench her fingers.

"Did you really think discussing me with Dotachin would benefit you in any way?"

Sora tried to calm her nerves, at least enough that they wouldn't show so much on the outside. She then looked up at him with a determined expression.

"Sitting around and doing nothing was not going to do me any good."

She was determined to not back down. There was a gleam of amusement in his eyes. He sighed.

"It really is such a human thing to try to fight against something you know you don't have any chance against. I have seen it so many times before but still don't understand why people willingly act so irrational. It's interesting though."

Sora narrowed her eyes slightly, not feeling she should comment on that.

"Why are you doing this, Izaya?"

"Why, I thought that would be obvious by now. It's because I love humans."

Sora willed herself to stay still.

"Yeah, but even still. There are so many different humans in this city. I'm sure Akira is not the first girl to take an interest in you, so why even bother with her?" Sora wanted to curse at herself when she noticed that her voice shook while saying that. Izaya's smile almost gleamed wickedly.

"Hmm, I don't really expect a mere human like you to understand why I engage with who I do."

This time Sora allowed her hands to curl up into fists at her sides.

"She's not a play toy Izaya. She is a person. There has got to be plenty of others in this city who are more interesting to mess with than Akira I'm sure. I just don't see the point in you trying to break her- "

"Oh, why would you think I want to break her?"

This surprised Sora. She raised her eyebrows, but his expression hadn't changed at all. There was no way to tell if he was serious about that or not.

"After all, where would the fun be in that?"

Sora felt very desperate and helpless. She didn't like it. She would not accept that it was hopeless.

"I don't know if there is anything I can say that would get you to stop. If there is, I will definitely say it. Even if you have to tell me what that would be. I don't want to beg, after all that has never worked on you with anyone in the past I'm sure. But I just cannot accept this just to happen.

She's already broken…I don't know how she would handle someone messing with her again."

That last part Sora mumbled, more so to herself. She was not even aware that Izaya picked up on it. His eyes perked up in controlled curiosity and intrigue.

"Say, Sora, I'm getting the impression this is more than just you being an overprotective friend." He leaned in closer so that their noses were practically a millimeter away from touching.

"There's something you're not telling me about Akira…isn't there~?"

Taken aback by his sudden inquiry, Sora forgot to hold her resolve, and widened her eyes. She paled slightly and felt like she couldn't breathe for a moment. He looked at her with smugness as though her silence was confirmation.

His eyes were so close to her. How can eyes seem so intruding?

His lips were so close to hers that she could feel his breath tickle her lips as he said,

"You know, I don't have to find out from you. You know that. If there is something being kept from me, I won't have much difficulty finding out what it is."

Sora felt paralyzed.

No.

His lips curled up in a very feline way.

"Well, I'm sure this is not the last you'll see of me. And Akira will definitely see more of me. Until next time Miss Sora Tanaka."

He pulled his face away from hers suddenly and began to skip away, leaving her still frozen where she was.

No…. No…this couldn't be happening. Sora felt stuck. Surely there is something she could do. If only Akira wasn't so obvious around her crushes.

 **A/N: So yeah, this came out more intense than I originally thought. Don't worry though, not everything will seem tense. Feedback please?**

 **Oh, and I am coming back to Akira of course.**

 **Also, I'm thinking about working on the next chapter during my Spring Break so you can look forward to that update in a couple of weeks or so I hope.**


	6. Chapter 6 (Expected?)

**A/N: I'm so sorry for this update taking way longer than I originally said it would. I got caught up with school work and was unable to work on any of my stories for a while. Plus, I ran into a bit of writer's block. Not that I didn't know what I wanted to happen, but more how to write it I guess. I began to second guess how my characterization of Izaya was going. I think this came out well though. Let me know if you catch any mistakes, I'll always go back to look over whether I need to edit something. Constructive criticism and just plain positive praise is always welcome.** **I hope you like it since I was a little unsure about some things.**

Chapter 6

Sora didn't tell Akira about the conversation she had with Izaya. What was the point? The issue wasn't whether or not Akira believed Sora. No, the real issue here was how tranced Akira would be around Izaya. It wasn't unusual to crush hard on someone, but this felt like something else. Sora didn't know how to describe it but it scared her. She hated feeling powerless. Sora had been fighting that feeling of powerlessness for a long time. As far as she knew, Izaya hadn't actually done anything to Akira since their conversation. However, she still took seriously the unspoken threat Izaya had given Sora.

After Izaya overheard Sora asking basically how to take Izaya down, Sora all of a sudden found herself becoming even busier than she had before. Some anonymous source had leaked online how apparently most of the sushi places in the area had lied about their rating from the health department. This lead to Russia Sushi becoming busier, and Sora needing to take on more shifts. That change along with her scheduled martial arts lessons meant that Sora would not be able to walk home with Akira at all anymore, and that Akira would practically be alone during those afternoons.

Just thinking about it made Sora want to curse as she headed to work that day. She had no evidence to support it, but Sora felt that her previous conversation with Izaya was too much of a coincidence for him to not be somehow involved in this. There had actually been a brief period where Sora had actually thought that Izaya was done with messing with her life. Pfft, guess she was wrong. This was much worse than before though, simply because of who it affected. Akira.

* * *

Akira truly had no idea that Izaya was making arrangements just so he could be alone with Akira. The thought never would have occurred to her. Honestly, Akira still had a hard time trying to convince herself that what had already occurred between the two wasn't an incredible dream. It just didn't seem possible to her, and yet it happened. He had actually approached. He had actually kissed her. This type of thing never happened. She really liked him, but was unsure what to do in this situation.

Akira hadn't seen Izaya as she walked home from school that day.

But I mean, why should she expect to run into him anyways? It's not like he ever said that he would walk her home every day or anything like that. He was a busy guy after all. Probably has way more interesting things to do anyways besides humoring a pathetic stuttering girl like herself.

She nearly expected him to be right next to her apartment door, like he had been that one time before he came in and kissed her for the second time. He wasn't here this time. She mentally scolded herself for being disappointed as she opened the door to the apartment. If he wasn't in the places he normally had been, she probably wasn't going to see him that day.

She shouldn't expect to see him at all anyways. He was an information broker, she was just a high school student. Maybe this meant she could reassure Sora after all. This was probably a better way to get over him anyways. If she could convince herself that she wouldn't see much of him anymore, she could motivate herself to get past this unreachable guy and focus on things she should like school.

Kiko meowed and rubbed against her leg as Akira got started on her homework. This was for the best after all. She needed a reality check after all. Akira just wished she could truly convince herself of the words she was repeating to herself.

* * *

Some time later, when Akira was almost done with her homework, the doorbell to the apartment rang. Akira looked at the time.

Strange. It was way too early for Sora to be done with work, and Sora's parents always got back late. Akira wasn't expecting anyone. Akira opened the door and found the last person she expected to be standing in front of the door.

Izaya Orihara. He was in his usual get-up. Red-brown eyes seemed to twinkle and his usual smirk rested on his face. Akira's eyes widened in shock, and she felt her face warm to a very bright pink.

"I-I-I-I-I-I-I-Izaya-san! W-w-what are you doing here!? I-I mean, not that I don't want you here or anything, in fact i-it's g-good to see you. Um, I-I mean, well, not that it would ever be bad to see you or anything, I mean, um…" Akira continued to stutter nonsense before realizing the uselessness of it and gave up, hiding her face behind her hands again. From in front of her Akira could hear a muffled giggle again.

"Well~, to answer your question, I finished the job I was on, which happened to be near here, so I thought I'd stop by."

Akira looked up from her hands, and managed to calm her breathing slightly, relieved that he didn't comment on how much of a complete fool she had just made of herself. After a moment, she still didn't respond to what he said. Izaya leaned forward slightly so that their faces were inches apart.

"May I come in~?"

Akira, looked away from his eyes again, still blushing.

Sora had made it very clear that Akira was not to just let Izaya into their apartment. Akira may not be the greatest at heading advice, but she still respected Sora's wishes.

But, what could she possibly say to him though? Simply asking him to leave without telling him a clear reason would be rude. After all, he had made the time to go over to her apartment when he didn't need to. Was she just supposed to tell him that she had been warned about him? Wasn't that kind of rude too? Plus, if he really wanted to come in, it's not like there was much she could do to stop him. Surely Sora knew that.

That and despite the dangerous vibe Izaya gave off, Akira couldn't help but feel like he wouldn't hurt her. Maybe it was stupid. She barely knew this guy after all. It certainly would not be the first time that Akira's decisions were led by wrong assumptions. Grr. She didn't know what to do. She also didn't realize how long she had just stood there not saying anything, lost in her own thoughts.

Only Izaya's sigh brought her out of her own internal conflict. She noticed he was reaching inside his pocket, where she had seen him reach when he showed her his knife. Akira tensed but simply watched him as he brought his knife out. Yet, he didn't open it. He held it closed, palm up, and held it out towards her. She gave him a confused look.

He grabbed her hand, pulled it up, and placed the closed switch blade into her hand. Then he held his hands up as though he was surrendering something.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Akira."

* * *

Normally Izaya would never part with his precious flick blade. Especially when he was playing a game with someone. But, this human was completely harmless in every sense of the word. There was absolutely no danger from her what so ever. Plus, scare tactics would not work if he wanted to get to her. (That is, scare tactics where he would be the one feared.) Seeing that he had noticed she was typically scared a lot of the time anyways. No. The secret to this human was not to try to scare her, but to get her to trust him. He didn't plan on breaking this one. He didn't find the need. There was a different way he would pick her brain, and apparently this way would be more pleasing to him as well.

* * *

She just stared at the closed switch blade for a moment, and then silently stepped aside so he could enter the apartment. Having the knife in her hand though just gave her the shivers. Akira didn't like weapons. Despite having no intention of actually using it, Akira still felt uncomfortable being entrusted with something like this. Weapons were just so dark and caused so much pain. Akira closed the apartment door and immediately placed the closed knife on a nearby countertop, glad she was no longer holding it.

Akira turned to face Izaya and felt incredibly awkward again. Izaya was leaning nonchalantly against the side of the couch as though he were completely oblivious to the awkward air. Seeming to not even notice that Kiko the cat was hissing viciously at him, and circling Akira's ankles in a defensive way. Akira sighed.

"D-do you, um, w-want anything to drink I-Izaya-san?"

He shot her another charming royal smile that made her knees feel weak.

"No thank you. I'm good right now. Thank you for offering though." He prodded over to the couch and sat on the end closest to her.

"Y-you're welcome." Akira replied quietly. He looked up at her expectantly and tilted his head towards the empty seat on the couch next to him. Akira glanced nervously away from him and bit her lip before slowing making her way over to the seat Izaya indicated, having to step over Kiko as she did so.

"Did you have any homework you had to do, Akira-chan~?"

"Um, w-well I did, but I'm pretty much done now t-though."

Akira didn't notice the mischievous grin on the informant's face. She was still avoiding his eyes.

"Oh, so you have the rest of the afternoon free then?"

"Um, y-yeah."

"Then that means you can surely hang out with me then."

Akira looked up again.

"D-doing what, Izaya-san?"

Izaya put a finger to his chin as though thinking it over.

"Well~, we can start by just talking I suppose."

"Uh, o-okay."

Because she did _so_ well talking with him so far, Akira thought sarcastically to herself.

"Alright then. Have you heard about the disappearances that have happened lately?"

That was definitely not something Akira expected Izaya to say.

"Um, n-no. I can't say that I have. I'm not exactly good about keeping up with these things." She replied, unable to hide the surprise in her voice from the topic of conversation.

"Well, there's been a lot of them lately. Especially in Ikebukuro recently."

"Oh…" She said very quietly.

"Yeah, nobody knows what's happening to them. Although it's usually people like illegal immigrants though. I did hear though that there was a girl from your school who disappeared."

"Oh, um, r-really?"

"Yep."

Akira tried to calm her breathing and shivers. That's so s-scary.

Izaya took note of the way Akira reacted fearfully to the topic being discussed.

"I don't think you have to worry about it though. The disappearances usually occur at night anyways. Surely you're smart enough to not walk home alone at night, right?"

"Of-of course not. I-I mean, of course I know not t-to do that."

"No. I figured as much. Although, it is certainly curious the kind of rumors that are going around about what happens to those who have disappeared."

"W-what sort of rumors?"

"Oh, I don't think you want to know. I don't exactly want to take responsibility for scaring a pretty, innocent girl like you."

Akira blushed at that. Did Izaya Orihara j-just call her pretty?

Her reaction amused Izaya again. She really was just too much fun.

Akira felt Izaya's arm go against the back of the couch over where she was sitting.

"What about the Dollars? Have you heard of them?"

"T-The Dollars? I think so."

"They're becoming pretty big now. Nobody knows for sure how many members there are. Especially since they are like a colorless gang."

"Oh really?"

Akira never thought she would be discussing something as ordinary (well, ordinary for Ikebukuro that is) as local news with Izaya Orihara. However, with Izaya, things never stayed ordinary.

"So yeah, clearly a lot of interesting things going on in this city. And yet, you seem to have stayed away from the excitement, right?"

"Um, well, I guess."

"But, you were there the first day we saw each other. You saw my confrontation with Shizu-chan?"

"Yes." Akira confirmed quietly.

"When you heard the convenience store trash can crashing, why did you run towards the sound instead of away from it?"

"Um…I don't know actually."

"You're afraid of the crazy things that happen and yet curious about it." Izaya was looking at her as though he was trying to stare into her very soul. Despite how uncomfortable it made her, she found herself unable to move away. Like she was paralyzed. Even though she didn't answer, he continued as though she had.

"Is that like how you feel about me? You're excited by the concept of me but become filled with nerves whenever you're even close to me?"

Akira didn't know how to answer because she didn't even know. His face moving closer to hers was beginning to muddle her thinking.

"What if I were to kiss you right now? Which one would win out more? Your fear or your excitement?"

Akira wasn't sure if she could breathe.

"I think I know the answer more than you do, Akira-chan." His nose was almost touching hers now. They just stayed that close for a moment, neither one of them moving.

"Do you want me to kiss you Akira-chan?"

Akira opened her mouth to answer but no words would come out. Why was talking so much harder all of a sudden? His breath against her face seemed to be overwhelming her senses. Izaya chuckled shortly at her lack of response.

"Somehow, your silence is louder than almost anything you've said tonight."

He stayed there for a moment, almost like he was teasing her. Then he pulled away and began to stroke her hair. Then he stroked the side of her face. Gently, he pushed her down so that her back was lying on the couch. He was lying on top of, tangling his fingers in her hair, and smiling at her mischievously. She felt the warmth of his body as he laid on top of her. It felt nice, but…strange.

Akira gasped in surprise after landing on her back on the couch. She didn't know what was going on. Did she like it? She couldn't exactly say that she hated it. But despite that, she still felt very nervous.

What was the plan here? Akira didn't know what any of this meant. Was he going to kiss her? W-what else could it be?

Seeing her panicked expression caused Izaya to somewhat find pity in her. He soothingly moved his hands up and down her sides to calm her.

Akira felt herself relax somewhat into his gentle touches. They actually felt kind of nice.

Izaya then pressed a sweet kiss against her forehead. Then he began to slowly and gently kiss down the side of her face. He kissed her cheek, and then kissed along her jaw line. He paused just above her lips again. Akira let her eyes close as familiar lips pressed into hers.

It started as a sweet peck first. Then he pulled away briefly before threading his fingers into her hair and coming in for more of a kiss.

She had trouble placing how to describe what came over her when Izaya was kissing her.

Why do they seem so desperate? Could anyone really desire any part of her so much?

So sweet, warm, gentle yet fierce. The speed of the kiss seemed to be increasing more so than it had before. She couldn't even think about why, already being too overwhelmed by just how close he was to her everywhere.

She felt a smirk against her lips before he deepened the kiss. She gasped which caused him to deepen it even more. She made a surprised sound from the unexpected intrusion, which was muffled by their kissing.

W-what was that doing in there? A-and why? She couldn't exactly say she didn't like it. Somehow, she did, but it still took her off guard. She felt her heart rate speed up even more at realizing just how little she really knew about this kind of thing, and it scared her. He soothingly moved his hands over her sides, arms, and other areas of her body to relax her. She felt herself calm down again and allowed herself to give in.

She always ended up letting her guard down around him. Somehow his presence always made her feel protected and safe despite how much excitement he could bring to her while they were with each other.

He tilted his head so the kiss went even deeper.

This was definitely different, but maybe that was okay.

She began to lose track of time. How long were these things supposed to be? Had it been a while or barely any time at all? Her uncertainty of this just made her feel even more embarrassed. She felt like she was in a trance. Maybe even a dream. Could this even be real?

He pulled away for a moment and bit the bridge of her nose playfully.

"You know, Akira, I've noticed the only time you seem to not stutter around me is when I'm kissing you."

Akira felt herself blush and Izaya's giggles sent a strange warmth to her chest. Even though he wasn't kissing her at the moment, she kept her eyes closed, too overwhelmed and entranced to bother opening them.

"Not that I'm complaining or anything. You're just simply fascinating."

His warm lips brushed against her ear.

"And I find every part of you simply adorable." He whispered in a husky voice then blew warm air into her ear causing her to shiver.

"And I simply just can't get enough of it."

Could he really mean that? Could anyone truly feel that way about her?

She felt him nuzzle against her neck and then sniff her there, tickling her slightly. Another smirk was felt against her skin. He kissed her neck there and then began sucking and licking it there causing her to feel a strange sensation. Akira felt like she was becoming overwhelmed with all these strange new sensations. It scared her, so why couldn't she get him to stop? He wasn't forcing herself on her. She had made no indication that she didn't want any of this. Maybe she did want this, but she didn't exactly know what _this_ was that she wanted. Kissing? Being physically close with anyone at all? Sure, she had never experienced anything like that before. After all, Izaya was her first kiss. She knew that wasn't the reason she was so torn though.

He pulled away from sucking on her neck and wrapped his arms around her so he was more embracing her now. Resting his head on her shoulder, yet his face was still touching her skin. She could feel he was breathing hard, although not as much as she was. She felt like she could hyperventilate right now. A hand reached up and stroke the side of her face as though sensing this. She felt herself involuntarily leaning into his touch, allowing the warm feeling it gave her. He smiled against her skin.

She felt him move up so that his forehead was resting against hers again. Slowly, almost teasingly so, he moved down to kiss her on the lips again, immediately going in for a deep one. It was gentle, and not as fast as the previous one. Like he was taking his time kissing her tenderly, deeply, and slowly. It made her melt more than the fast-paced kiss. Shyly, she began to kiss back, hoping she wouldn't disappoint him or anything. She really didn't know what she was doing, yet she tried to kiss him back deeply as well hoping she was doing it right. This seemed to encourage him though since he pulled her closer against him and kissed her even more.

She felt his arms trail down so they were resting on her hips. He slowly traced lazy circles against her hips then moved his hands inside her shirt, yet just above where they were before on her hips. Not going any higher up. He traced the same lazy circles on her skin, yet this time she could feel the warmth from his fingers more. They tingled in a nice way.

Akira felt her restraint melting away even more so and allowed herself to kiss back less reluctantly. The new kind of kissing he had seemingly introduced to her was beginning to come to her more naturally, despite how unsure she still felt about doing it correctly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him more into her. After her forward move, she felt him chuckle softly against her lips. Slowly he pulled away and disentangled himself from her arms.

"Maybe~ we should stop with that for now."

Akira just looked at him in confusion as he sat up, but he was giving her a warm smile. She had never seen him with a smile like that before. It wasn't his usual sexy smirk…did she just say sexy? Even in her own thoughts the word made her feel embarrassed and flustered. Anyways, despite it not being…like that, she decided she liked it. She almost felt like she was seeing something on the informant's face that very few got to see. Akira immediately tried to brush away such a ridiculous thought though.

This wasn't a rejection, she realized as her mind came back to the current situation, and blushed brightly again at her actions. He reached down for her, and she let him pull her back up to a sitting position. He gently placed her head so that it was resting against his shoulder, encouraging her to lean against him. The both of them slumped against the backs of the couch. It was nice and relaxing. The two of them just sitting there, being in each other's presence. Akira knew she was letting herself enjoy this more than she should be.

"I know you may find this hard to believer, Akira, but I actually do enjoy your company." Izaya started quietly. "I find it…"

There was a hesitation there.

"Refreshing you could almost say."

Akira wanted to just smile and accept the warmth the current moment was giving her, but for some reason she couldn't. There was still something bugging her that she just couldn't seem to forget. Carefully Akira lifted her head off of his shoulder and up to face him, despite how nerve-wracking it was to meet his eyes.

I mean like seriously, those eyes…

They were almost intimidating, but not in a scary way if that made any sense. He watched her with a glint of curiosity at her supposedly unexpected actions. She sighed and readied herself for what she was about to say. It was definitely embarrassing to say out loud, but she needed to know.

"I-Izaya…san- "

"I think at this point you can drop the formal honorific Akira-Chan~." Izaya stated with a chuckle, still eyeing her curiously. Why was he watching her like that? Akira blushed brightly again and took in a deep breath.

"Alright, um, I-Izaya- "Her voice shook as she said that, unsure how she felt about losing the honorific. This just caused him to laugh warmly again and she gave a small smile in spite of herself. Akira cleared her throat, asserting herself with what she was about to say.

"Why me?"

He raised an eyebrow at that, amusement still seeping into his facial features.

"I-I, mean, um, well…y-y-you could have any girl in the city…" She lost her resolve and avoided eye contact again yet continued to speak her mind, "S-s-so, w-why w-would you even bother with me? W-with a girl like me? W-why would you even bother paying me any attention? I know you know I like you. Sora's told me so many times in the past how painfully obvious I am, a-and I've heard from others that you're very smart. Especially with what you do for a living. In fact, some people were surprised that you didn't make a show of stomping on my heart. For some reason, I wasn't surprised that you hadn't done this to me, B-but I am surprised that you pay me any attention at all. T-that you kiss me…" Akira trailed of as she looked up to see his reaction. He looked as though he was contemplating something.

"Hmm~, well, I'm not sure if there's a simple answer to that Akira."

She shot him a confused look.

"I mean, there isn't one definite reason for why I interact with you I suppose, Akira. There's many factors. I typically don't favor any one person over the others, but I have found you more interesting than some other people lately. I'm not sure if that was the answer you were looking for, Akira-Chan, but it's the truth. You're interesting, and there's more than one reason. I mean," He leaned in close to her face again causing Akira's breath to catch. He chuckled at that.

"Your reactions to the things I do are simply adorable~." He chuckled some more as her blush burned again. He pulled his face away again.

"I imagine that I probably won't tire of you anytime soon." He stated quietly. Akira raised an eyebrow, not fully hearing or understanding what he said.

"Hmm? What was that?"

"Oh nothing. Nothing at all. The point I was trying to make is that I enjoy being in your company, whether it be your innocent yet _very_ sincere kisses or simply talking with you. Like with you being so new to the city."

Akira gave a small nod and looked down at her lap.

"Might I inquire what caused you to ask me that?"

"Um, well-well, uh…" Grr, would she ever stop feeling so mortified around this god-like guy?

"I-I just wasn't sure. I-I mean, you're j-just so attractive and I'm…" Akira answered in a very quiet voice, unable to finish her statement."

"Akira, I meant what I said-" The door to the apartment could be heard unlocking. That was either Sora or Sora's parents. Great. Akira did not look forward to having to explain this.


	7. Chapter 7 (A change?)

Chapter 7

As the door opened, Akira stood up and faced the door, trying to figure out in her head how she could explain the situation. Izaya also stood up and faced the direction she did. Both watched as Sora's parents came into the apartment. The door wasn't even closed yet before Sora's parents froze at seeing a stranger in their apartment with Akira.

Although Izaya knew Sora from when he had "helped" the yellow scarves during their gang war with the blue squares, he had never met her parents. That wasn't too surprising given Sora had been untrusting of Izaya since the moment Saki introduced the two of them. Sora's father had the fairly average appearance of a Japanese man, except he was taller than normal. Sora's mother on the other hand was clearly a foreigner. Probably American. She had the same wavy goldish hair and hazel eyes that Sora did. Almost a perfect copy of how Sora might look as an adult, except that her mother did not share the clearly distinctive Asian facial features that Sora did. Izaya had always suspected that Sora wasn't fully Japanese. Although, like he said, it's not like Sora ever really talked to him about that kind of thing. Then again, she had been right not to trust him.

After a moment, Sora's mother closed the door behind them, and the pair walked over to Akira and Izaya appearing very guarded. Both of them crossed their arms.

Well, he couldn't exactly blame them. He was a stranger in their home. Time to turn on the charm.

Izaya shot them a winning smile and bowed respectively.

"Ah, you must be Mr. and Mrs. Tanaka. Sora's parents, yes? It's a pleasure to finally meet- "

"What are you doing here?" Mr. Tanaka interrupted. Not that surprised at being interrupted, Izaya straightened up.

"Right. Sorry for coming unannounced, but you see- "

"You're that young man Sora told us about, aren't you?" Mrs. Tanaka interrupted. That threw Izaya off slightly.

 _Sora told her parents about him?_ It probably wasn't everything in their history, knowing her.

"The one Sora said has been hanging around Akira. If memory serves me correctly, Sora described them as being like a stalker. Showing up randomly to be with Akira."

"Plus, Sora also said that you were bad news, given the reputation that has gone around about you. Now, I don't know how you were given the impression that it's okay to show up at our home out of the blue, but it's not. If it seems like we are being rude, then that is because we simply don't approve of people we don't know invading our personal lives. Get out."

Izaya had expected Sora's parents to be wary of him, but did not think they would be this closed off. He hadn't even been given a chance to explain himself before they shut him out.

Akira shyly stepped forward.

"Um, uncle Kaito- "

"I don't want to hear it, young lady. We need to have a serious talk about this as soon as he leaves."

Akira sighed and shot Izaya an apologetic look.

Seeing he had apparently overstayed his welcome, Izaya made his way to the door without another word, discreetly taking his flick blade back while doing so. He had just barely walked into the hallway when the door was slammed behind him.

 _Well that was…something_. Izaya almost felt like he shouldn't have been surprised at such a reaction. However, his intuition told him there was more to this than simple anger at him showing up at their apartment. And a lot of times Izaya's intuition was right when it came to following information.

Sora and her parents were extremely overprotective of Akira. Perhaps it would be a good time to look into Akira's files to see why this might be. Not only was this girl's innocence towards him adorable, he might even have a mystery on his hands. _Oh Akira…she just keeps getting more and more intriguing._

* * *

After the door closed on Izaya, both of Sora's parents turned to Akira with disapproving looks. Akira sighed and sadly looked to the ground. She just wished that she could show them and Sora that she wasn't as helpless as they thought she was.

* * *

(later that night in Sora's room)

"Sora, I already told you that nothing happened."

"Oh really? The hickey on your neck states otherwise."

Akira immediately covered the mark Izaya had made on her neck.

 _So that's what that was called._

"W-well even still. It's not as bad as you probably think."

"Not as bad as I think?! Akira! You let Izaya, a man I warned you about, into our home! I'd say that definitely isn't good."

"H-he didn't do anything bad, you know. He even gave me his f-flick blade to show that he wouldn't hurt me." Akira shuttered at the thought of holding the weapon like she had earlier.

Sora simply rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, well that was clearly a trick to get you to trust him."

Akira didn't get angry very much, but this whole thing was beginning to get very frustrating.

"Sora, come on," She whined, "I've already gotten the lecture from your parents- "

"Good. You should get a lecture."

Akira groaned.

"You know I'm not an idiot, right?! If I felt attacked in any way, I could have gotten myself out of- "

"Oh yeah, you sure about that?"

Akira glared at Sora at that, but she seemed unapologetic at what she had said.

Akira could never really escape the past with them, could she?

"You know we're just trying to help you in the way that we think is best, Akira- "

"Oh yeah? And what's best for me? Keeping me away from the unknown? How would you know?! If you're determined to be such a hover-friend about this Izaya thing, the least you could do is tell what is so bad about him anyways! I've only ever heard vague warnings, and I've never felt a malicious vibe from him."

 _Maybe there's a reason for that_ , Sora thought before sighing.

"L-look, Akira, part of the reason why Izaya is so dangerous is well…because he's so unpredictable. I once heard a former friend say that his motivations and beliefs change every few minutes, and I can't help but think that's probably right." Sora sat down next to Akira on her bed and tried to take on a gentler tone.

"Akira…he's the type of person who would take pleasure in breaking someone's heart just to see how they would react." Despite what Saki probably claims.

"He's never had an interest in a relationship before, so it's already alarming that he's acting that way around you. When Izaya does the unexpected, you never know how dangerous the effects could be. He looks as people as his "humans", and despite saying he loves them all, he treats them like toys. Picking at their brains to see how much they can handle before they break. That is my biggest fear with you, Akira. He has taken his time to break people who are way more emotionally stable than you are. I can't even imagine what he plans to do with you. It's not a good thing when a snake like him takes an interest in you. After all, interest doesn't mean genuine caring."

Sora had hoped she could avoid sharing the harsh truth with her sister-like friend, but felt like she probably had no choice. Akira was extremely sensitive, and Sora would do whatever it took to keep her from shattering to pieces.

"Besides, Akira, I have experienced first-hand his toxic behavior…" Sora trailed off quieter and looked away from Akira as painful memories surfaced without her consent.

Memories of finding out what Izaya had been doing to the yellow scarves all along. The moment when he had shared some harsh possibilities with her, making her feel like a completely horrible person. Especially since she couldn't refute all his claims. He had been around her a lot at the time because of her connection to Saki and Masaomi. Despite knowing Masaomi was nothing like that demon, there was a reason she couldn't but relate the two when thinking of either.

Akira looked at Sora anyways with slight surprise. She was dying to ask Sora more about it, but knew she wouldn't be getting that out of her friend. Not tonight at least.

Also, it wasn't that Akira thought that Sora was lying about the way she had described Izaya…it's just that sometimes it can be difficult for your brain to convince your heart of something. Akira was after all always helpless around her crushes. Yet, this time her feelings felt stronger than they had with some previous crushes. Like a feeling she'd had only one other time…but she couldn't think about that right now. Akira sighed.

"Look…I'll be more careful, okay? I can't just be rude to him though if decides to talk to me, you know that Sora. It's just not who I am. Besides, I've noticed he's around this city a lot. I can't avoid running into him you know."

Sora looked at her again, seeming to come back to the present.

"I know, Akira. All I ask is for you to try to be careful. I know that it's hard for you to avoid falling for his charms. I just want to help is all."

* * *

The next day Akira found herself walking to Russia sushi. It was the first day of the weekend. She didn't have any school work left to do, so Sora's parents said she should stop by Russia Sushi for lunch to say hi to Sora, claiming that she could probably use the company. Akira suspected though that they probably didn't want Akira just wandering around Ikebukuro by herself. They didn't live too far from the restaurant. Although Sora's parents still made her leave the house carrying a pepper spray in her purse.

She sighed as she made her way. Thankful that they didn't at least insist walking there with her.

Despite being forced to go to Russian Sushi, she didn't really mind. Even with her friend working there, she had never dined there herself. Plus, she didn't really have anything much better to do. What would she do at home anyways? Surf the net? Write more embarrassing stories? Write to cope? At least this way she got to get some fresh air, despite how uncomfortable she gets around too many people. She was some good ways away from the apartment when,

"Ah, Akira-Chan! Fancy running into you here."

Akira stiffened when she noticed him walk up so that he was beside her. Neither stopped walking.

 _He didn't put his arm around me this time…why? Wait, it doesn't matter. It's probably for the best._

He seemed to have noticed her change in posture though.

"Something the matter, Akira-Chan~? Have we gone backwards with our communication efforts?"

Akira sighed and shyly looked away from him.

"Uh-um…I…I'm n-not supposed to b-be around you…" She stated barely over a whisper. He seemed to have heard it though, for he sighed dramatically, yet the smirk never left his face.

"Well, I had expected as much, given your guardians' reactions to me last night. But, we're just walking together, no? There's no harm in that. You were already on your way somewhere. I happened to see you as I was on my way somewhere. It was a complete coincidence~! So, there's nothing wrong with two people who get along walking side by side each other through the city, right? I'm not going to change your direction or anything like that."

Akira doubted the part about it being a coincidence, but yet again found that she couldn't exactly argue with him. How come he always made such good points? And in spite of herself, she still managed to blush in his presence.

"S-so, um…w-where are you going then?" She asked.

"A bit nosey, aren't you?" He laughed. "Just~ kidding. I'm actually in between clients right now so I thought I'd stop for lunch at Russia Sushi."

Akira sighed again. If Sora saw them walk in together she'd freak…

"Oh, is that where you're going too?"

"…Sora works there."

"Ah yes, the over-protective friend. Well don't worry, I usually take my food to go anyways. Would it make you feel better if we entered at separate times?"

Akira giggled slightly. That made it seem like they were running some sort of spy operation, not simply avoiding a lecture from a friend. He smiled too.

"So, tell me, do you ever just observe people?"

"Hmm?" Another unusual question from him.

"You know. Just watch the people around you to observe their interactions and reactions to things? Some call it people watching. It can be enjoyable to try to figure out the types of lives others are living. It's one of my favorite parts of observing. Observation is important to my job after all."

"Um, well, I-I'm usually too nervous around others to really look up at any of them."

"Oh, it's easier than you think. Trust me. You're a writer, yes?"

Remembering how he discovered this, Akira blushed as she nodded.

"Tell me, how do you base your character's reactions to the situations you put them in?"

"Well, um, I usually draw in from my own experiences of myself along with what I've noticed of my friends and family."

"You see. As a writer you write what's familiar, but sometimes to write of something you don't know much about in a story, it can be important to watch others so you can get a realistic depiction of how your characters would act."

Who knew he'd have good advice with this? Everything he was saying made perfect sense.

"Like, look over there. Tell me what you see." Izaya and Akira both stopped walking for a moment. They were in a shadow just before turning around a corner.

She looked where he pointed and noticed an unusual looking van a little bit in front of them, but on the other side of the street. Akira thought she'd seen that van around the city before. They were parked in front of the manga store. The back seats were open. Two guys appeared to be leaning against the front of the van, chatting casually. They appeared to about Izaya's age if Akira had to guess. Maybe college age? One of them had light brown hair that seemed to end at his shoulders. The other appeared tall and somewhat muscular. He wore a black beanie with a shadow that hinted at dark hair being covered, and he was wearing a dull green hoodie. He was kind of cute, but definitely nothing compared to Izaya. The thought made her blush again and she almost looked away, but felt like she should observe like Izaya said.

Because of where Akira and Izaya were standing, the guys by the van would not be able to see the pair of them.

"Well, two guys are leaning against an unusual looking van." And she described their physical appearances.

"Okay. And what can you tell me about them?"

"What do you mean? I don't even know them. I don't have enough information- "

"Just try. You can tell more about a person by simply watching them than you'd expect. Even by guessing from observation you could be closer to the truth than you'd expect."

She tried again and really watched.

"Pay attention to their body language and mannerisms." Akira felt her breath catch as Izaya leaned in by her ear. Despite his closeness she still managed to hear what he was saying.

"People say a lot more about themselves without actually saying anything. If you pay attention to the little details like that, you may be surprised by how inquisitive you can be."

Their postures were seemingly casual, yet their faces turned towards each other to talk quietly.

"What can you tell about the tones they're saying things?" He was whispering warmly into her ear. She took a deep breath. _Tone? We can't even hear them from this distance._

"Like, notice the facial expressions they make as they say things. Even any subtlety in movements can mean a lot. Most people are oblivious to how open their body language can be to people like us."

 _People like us? What did he mean by that?_

She took his words into consideration and watched the two guys more carefully.

There was a slight serious tension to the duo's faces. The taller one sighed and rubbed his forehead in exasperation.

Akira contemplated for a moment before sharing her thoughts with Izaya.

"Um, they're hiding something. Something they don't want regular people to know about because they're trying to act casual. Maybe it's something dangerous, like gang related?" She looked over at him. He was smirking again, but there was a gleam of something else in his eyes. He nodded at her.

"Go on."

"Um, the taller one seems to be in charge of something? Because the other guy keeps looking to him first. The taller guy also seems like whatever they're talking about is something he doesn't want to do but has to. The taller one doesn't have a dangerous air about him but has a strong one about him though. If that um makes any sense. Almost like he could take control of something but he doesn't have malicious intent?"

Akira was beginning to wonder how much of that was far-fetched given the small observations she had made. Maybe the writer in her caused her to think too creatively about what was probably more normal circumstances. Sora did used to say that Akira was always the dreamer. She used to always have her nose in some book or her own notebook.

Izaya let out a small laugh. He pulled away from her ear and they began to walk again.

"Wow, I'm impressed for your first-time people watching. You weren't too far off."

Akira was still watching, surprisingly caught up in it. A couple of young adults practically flew out of the manga store and stopped in front of the duo, chattering excitedly while carrying large piles of mangas. They seemed unaware of how many they were dropping from their excited jumping up and down. Then they pretty much leapt into the back seat of the van, closing the door behind them. The duo in front of the van shared a look and both sighed at the same time. Akira couldn't help but giggle at that.

Evidently, she forgot they were getting closer to the van, because the duo looked over to her at the sound of her giggle. Embarrassed at being caught watching, Akira blushed and looked away quickly. Izaya chuckled at that and waved at the gang across the street.

"Hey there, Dotachin~. How's it been?"

'Dotachin' groaned and sighed exasperatedly.

"I've told you not to call me that, Izaya."

Izaya just chuckled again. The van door facing Akira and Izaya opened and the energetic girl from earlier popped her head out, and waved at Izaya excitedly.

"Hiya hiya, Iza-Iza. How's Shizu-chan?"

Izaya rolled his eyes and laughed again.

"How should I know?"

"But- "A hand from the van covered her mouth, keeping her from saying whatever. There was a barely heard muttering of, 'are you trying to get us killed?' Izaya simply shook his head in amusement and continued walking. Akira started walking again, matching his pace. She noticed they were fairly close to Russia Sushi now.

"Say, Akira, do you mind if I ask you something first before we go in there? Like, maybe over at the park just across the street from the restaurant? I promise it won't take long. It's something you may not want to answer around a lot of people though I suspect."

Akira hesitated and clutched her purse closer to herself. After a moment, she quietly nodded and followed him across the street.

After all, as long as she didn't suspect danger, she really couldn't say no to him as much as she hated that.

* * *

Sora sighed to herself as she cleaned the bar table area of Russia Sushi. She thought Akira would have been here by now, but tried not to worry about it.

 _It's not like Izaya_ _could try anything really in the short distance from their apartment, right?_

She wished this would reassure her more. After all, Izaya was good at being unpredictable it seemed. As Sora got caught up in her thoughts while cleaning, she almost didn't notice the new customer who came in.

"You can seat yourself. I'll be with you in a moment." She called out, not really being aware of her lack of waitress etiquette. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the customer who came in sat down in front of the area on the bar she was cleaning. Sora looked up to see a familiar golden-haired boy wearing a white hoodie. She resisted the urge to scoff at him and immediately went to get him a menu without even looking him in the eyes. She came back and plopped a menu in front of him.

"You could have waited, you know. Clearly I wasn't done cleaning the bar." She went back to cleaning the rest and avoided looking at him. "Let me know when you know what you want."

It was quiet for a moment. _Masaomi was never quiet. Hmm._

"Actually…um, I came to talk-"

"I'm a little busy right now, Masaomi. You know, _working_. Besides, you know I don't really want to be talking with you anyways."

"Right…um, that's kind of why I came here, I knew you wouldn't talk to me otherwise and it's important."

Sora sighed and finally faced him, hands on her hips.

" _Well_ , are you gonna order or not?"

"Er, right." Masaomi ordered a drink which she immediately went to get. After giving it to him, she went to clean some of the empty tables to give him time to look over the menu. He turned around on his barstool so he could still talk to her.

"So, um Kadota told me that you are worried about a friend of yours. Apparently Izaya has been hanging around her a lot? I'm assuming Kadota's talking about that new girl who is always with you."

Sora sighed and faced him.

"What about it?"

"I want to help. I know you aren't too thrilled with me after the whole yellow scarves thing where Saki got hurt, but you and I both know how conniving Izaya can be. If your friend is being sucked into one of his games, I want to do what I can to keep her from getting hurt by him. Nobody deserves experiencing those games really."

She started cleaning again.

"Look, I appreciate the offer, but I can't really see what you'd be able to do. Like you said, we both know how dangerous he can be. It's not like you were able to save your brainwashed girlfriend from one of his games."

He flinched at that but didn't back down.

"Please, just let me try. You'd be surprised at how I could help."

"What, are you going to order your gang to be her body guards or something? Are they really stupid enough to attack Izaya Orihara?"

He looked offended by that.

"Sora…do you really think that after everything that happened with Saki that I would still be involved with that life? I left the yellow scarves a long time ago."

This surprised Sora slightly and she looked up again.

"But it was your gang."

He shrugged. "Someone could have taken over, or they could have fallen apart. But what happened to Saki caused me to not care about gang stuff anymore. It really doesn't matter. Especially when someone you care about could get hurt as a result."

Sora thought over his words for a moment. _He quit because of Saki? Maybe he had changed after all._

She shook her head from those thoughts. Going down that road wouldn't help any.

"So how do you suggest helping if you don't have a gang to back you up?"

He shrugged again. "I could probably just help walk your friend home so she won't be alone. You forget, I can do some fighting of my own, so maybe I could keep her safe? Maybe he won't go up to her if she's not alone."

"But, you don't even know her. Why would you even do that?"

"Well, for one thing, the reason I don't know her is because I sensed you wanted me to give you some space." She went to get him a refill, almost forgetting that he should have ordered something by now.

"Even though you stopped being friends with me doesn't mean I stopped caring about you. We used to be like best friends because of Saki. That doesn't just go away. I still care about you a lot, so the people who are important to you I care about also. Maybe this could be my chance to prove myself to you again. So please…let me?" As she set his refill down in front of him she noticed him reaching out, like he was going to hold her hand or something.

She immediately moved her hand away from him and cleared her throat awkwardly. She glanced away and her eyes happened to catch that the news was on the restaurant's TV.

As Sora noticed what was displayed on the news she froze in her movements and her face paled.

* * *

Masaomi noticed her reaction.

"Sora? Is everything alright?"

After a moment of staying frozen she blinked and then gave him an unfocused gaze. Almost as though she barely recognized he was trying to talk to her.

"Um…yeah…uh tell Simon I need to make a phone call." And with that she dropped the rag on the counter and took off to somewhere more private in the restaurant to make a phone call.

 _Was that a reaction to what's on the news?_ It seemed kind of weird for Sora. She was usually so composed.

Curious about what could have gotten such a reaction out of her, Masaomi looked over at the tv screen to see what was being displayed on the news.

It didn't really seem like anything that would be noteworthy to her. Some guy he'd never heard of before apparently broke out of Ikebukuro prison. There weren't many details on him though. Apparently, he had been locked away for many years. Something about kidnapping it seemed?

After a little while, Sora came back over, still seeming a bit shaken.

"Um, I may need your help after all."

 **A/N: I just wanted to clarify something in case it was confusing. Sora's dad is not Akira's actual uncle. Their families are just very close so she calls Sora's parents Aunt and Uncle even though they aren't biologically related.**


End file.
